The single-seater electric vehicle, called Vandy, weighs almost 80 kg and has a top speed of 27 km/h. It also won the International Award for Safety from Dupont.
A group of 19 students from Kerala built an electric car that has won numerous awards and titles at the global competition. The electric car named Vandy is one of the electric cars that won the award at the international energy efficiency competition Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) 2022, held in Indonesia recently. It also received honors for the International Award for Technical Innovation and the Dupont International Award for Safety. The students from Thiruvananthapuram, who built the EV from scratch, are part of the mechanical line of Barton Hill Government College of Engineering, with mentorship from Acsia Technologies.
The team of 19 students, known as Pravega, was one of five qualified teams from India for the international level of the event. The electric car the students built weighs about 80 kg, has only one seat, and has a top speed of 27 km/h. It took them nearly 10 months to complete the electric car prototype.
The students based the design of the Vandy electric car on a biological model of the Tiger Shark. It looks like a capsule and has three wheels, two in the front. The EV is equipped with an electric drivetrain featuring an advanced battery thermal management system developed using a research paper they published in the journal Sustainable Energy Technology and Evaluation.
The Vandy electric scooter is also equipped with safety features including a driver drowsiness detection system. The system uses non-intrusive sensors that use Artificial Intelligence to check if the driver is fit to drive and act accordingly.
The students received help from R Bind, the Minister of Higher Education in Kerala to receive grants and other government programs. Kalyani S Kumar, Team Leader at Pravega, said, “It’s truly an achievement for us. This project has provided us with a unique opportunity to use and expand our engineering skills. us to create something sustainable and eco-friendly.” Jijimon Chandran, founder and CEO of Acsia Technologies, said, “As a mentor, we are proud to have guided students from the school in creating a demonstration electric vehicle. this value.”
Shell Eco-marathon is an international competition where students from different countries design, build and test cars, both ICE and electric, with high mileage.
Date of first publication: October 19, 2022, 11:21 AM IST
