Solar Challenge 2013 - Cambridge University Interview
In October 2013, a team of engineers will be competing in the Australian Solar Challenge to see if their solar-powered car can be a world-beater. We chat to the team behind Resolution.
Listen to FrequencyCast Show 92 - 2013 Solar Challenge Interview |
Rooting for Resolution:
We're supporting Cambridge University's car Resolution in the Australian Solar Challenge in Octiober. Here's the transcvript of our interview from Show 92:
Transcript continues from Dave Gorman - Life is Goodish
Pete:
While our listeners are frantically looking up Mr Stivens, let us talk about something that's coming up in a few days' time from now. Between the 6th and the 13th of October, something very exciting's happening – what's happening?
Kelly:
Well, it's the Solar Challenge in Australia.
Pete:
Yes, indeed. Now, the team from Cambridge University are entering a solar-powered car into this amazing race that's taking place in Australia, and we are throwing our weight behind this one. We want these guys and girls to win. We caught up with the team from Cambridge University, who told us a little bit more about what they're doing. Here is Andrew, who's a fourth-year engineering student at Cambridge University.
Andrew:
This is the second solar-powered car that we've ever built. The first one was called Affinity, and it was the first-ever road legal solar car in the UK. We did a proof of concept of that, and drove it from Lands' End to John O'Groats, to show to the UK that it's possible to do this, even on UK roads, with UK weather conditions. The second car we built, we're competing in the World Solar Challenge, which is a 3,000 kilometre solar marathon from Darwin in the north of Australia, to Adelaide in the south of Australia.
Pete:
I'm familiar with solar panels either on my little pocket calculator at home, or of course on roofs now, to save on electricity consumption at home. These don't look like the standard solar panels that I'd be used to on the roof of a house. What am I looking at?
Andrew:
The ones you see here are the silicon cells, so these are similar to the solar cells you get on the house, but they're encapsulated in a different way, in order to be able to fit the curve profile of the car. These have an efficiency of about 25%, whereas on our new car, for example, they're gallium-arsenide cells, they're the kind of cells that you only get on satellites at the moment. They're incredibly efficient, they're 35.5% efficient. The cells on the surface of the car, they're actually inside the back of the car under a canopy, and the effect of this is to decouple even further the aero and the solar, so we can actually track the sun.
As the sun moves across the sky during the day, we get an extra 20% power, but during the last race there were bush fires, which caused a lot of cars to stop competing in the competition. The lead cars worked out that, in order to complete the competition, they had to accelerate and just go through the bush fires before they closed the roads, and a lot of other teams didn't manage to do this, so they were stuck in the cloud. They couldn't even charge their cells, which caused a lot of problems for the rest of the race.
Pete:
The car we're looking at here, this isn't actually the one that's going to be in the upcoming challenge, is it?
Andrew:
That's currently in a garage up at Cambridge. We're currently building it at the moment.
Pete:
Well, we wish you all the best of luck, and we'll be watching. Is it televised, the challenge?
Andrew:
It's not televised in this country, but we'll be doing updates on our website.
Pete:
Could you just tell us the web address, where we can find out more about this?
Andrew:
It's www.cuer.co.uk.
Pete:
OK, I'm talking to Anna, also presumably from Cambridge?
Anna:
Yes, from Cambridge. I graduated last year.
Pete:
Now, you're going to have the joy of driving this new amazing solar vehicle, is that right?
Anna:
Absolutely, yes.
Pete:
OK, we're just taking a picture of you, which will be up on the website. How do you feel about driving something like this?
Anna:
It's pretty exciting. I've got no idea what it's going to feel like, because I've only ever been in the old car. I'm looking forward to it, looking forward to it starting.
Pete:
Are you looking forward to a nice holiday in Australia as well?
Anna:
Absolutely, yeah – lots of camping, lots of friends, and just have fun.
Pete:
And hopefully lots of sun, that's the plan, yeah?
Anna:
That's absolutely the plan – hoping for the sun. The battery's not going to get us too far.
Pete:
Excellent, well good luck from all of us at FrequencyCast, and we'll be following your progress.
Anna:
Fantastic, thank you very much.
Kelly:
Good luck, guys! I hope it goes very well.
Pete:
And there's a picture of Anna up on our website, so give them your support in Australia, from 6th to 13th October.
Kelly:
Woo-hoo!
Pete:
That's October, and in November, Kelly, we're out and about. Where are we?
Kelly:
We're going back to Gadget Show Live London.
Transcript continues: Gadget Show Live Xmas 2013 Preview
Listen to FrequencyCast Show 92 - 2013 Solar Challenge Interview |
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