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3 posts tagged with "Student team"

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· 3 min read
Yves Persoons

Formula e introduces sd race car title

On Thursday 28 July 2022, the Formula Electric Belgium team presented their brand new self-propelled electric car: the Super Nova. The unveiling took place at DronePort in Sint-Truiden. Since 2009, students of Thomas More and KU Leuven (Campus Group T and De Nayer) have joined forces to build annually an electric race car with the latest technological gadgets.

This year, the students went one step further, thanks to a close collaboration with over 120 companies. The result: the Super Nova, the very first self-propelled Belgian racing car made by students. Super Nova is an upgraded car from the team's wide range of cars, which now includes more than 13 e-race cars.

Remko Schippers, Team Manager, Formula

We were ready for the next step, converting one of our older racing models into a self-driving version.

The most expensive gocart ever​

Remko Schippers, Team Manager, Formula

Before we could start working on the self-propelled car, all the sensors had to be thoroughly tested. For this we built the most expensive gocart ever. By placing all the sensors on a cheap gocart, the original value increased from 20 euros to no less than 25,000 euros.

By pushing the gocart, we could see how the algorithms and sensors worked together. Once this was in place, the step could be taken to a home-made test platform.

Remko Schippers, Team Manager, Formula

This was a huge success, we went from self-propelled to fully self-driving, which also gave an enormous motivation to continue working on this ambitious project.

The implementation at Super Nova followed quickly.
The self-propelled racing car weighs 250 kg and can drive 25 km/h.

Remko Schippers, Team Manager, Formula

That is obviously slower than our previous race cars, but we have built a good basic platform on which next year's team can certainly continue to work.

In the coming years, the team will certainly also look at the possibilities for a hybrid car, which is both self-driving and can be chauffeured.

What's next​

Remko Schippers, Team Manager, Formula

As a race team, we want to push the car to the limit. We are ready for it! Let the competition begin!

Therefore, in 2023, the team will participate in Formula Student competitions with their improved version of the car. In doing so, they will compete against other self-driving race cars from around the world.

· One min read
Yves Persoons

Solar team breaks world record title

Breaking!​

new record!

1051km in 12 hours!

After two European titles and a world title, the Leuven engineering students are stunting again. On Sunday 12 June 2022, they drove their solar car 1050 km in 12 hours. In doing so, they smashed the 127 km world record set by the Dutch Solar Team from Delft in 2020. Apart from a flat tyre, the record attempt went off without a hitch. Both the solar car and the team are ready for the next challenge: the Sasol Solar Challenge from 9 to 16 September in South Africa.

· 3 min read
Yves Persoons

Solar team championship title

The solar car team of KU Leuven has won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia on Thursday 17 October. After a hectic five-day race, the team crossed the finish line first in Adelaide. This is a first for the KU Leuven, the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and some other engineering students, Campus Group T and for Belgium, because it is the first time a Belgian team becomes world champion.

This year, 44 teams from 22 countries competed in Australia. The task was to cover a distance of 3,021 km from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south in the shortest possible time using a self-built solar car.

Solar team championship day2-101

The 8th time, the best time​

The 20 engineering students did not come onto the ice unscathed. It is already the eighth time that a Leuven team participated in the World Solar Challenge.

Willem Jan Claes, leader team Agoria

In all those years we have built up a lot of expertise which was transferred from team to team and this has now paid off.

This way, we came to the start of this edition with the fastest and most performant solar car. But it is certainly not a guarantee that you will win. The championship in Australia is not an ordinary race, it is a real challenge. Not only do you compete against the other teams, you also have to fight the elements: the wind, the desert, sandstorms and the ever-present risk of accidents.

The car of our Dutch colleagues from Twente went over in a gust of wind. And the car of our friends -and eternal competitors- from Delft caught fire during the last drive. The pilot was lucky to make it out alive.

Solar team championship day2-106

More than races​

The students from Leuven worked day and night for more than a year on their Bluepoint. They designed and built everything themselves, from the battery to the solar panel and the bodywork.

Willem Jan Claes

You start the race with a full battery, but once you're on the road, you can only recharge with the sun. The same goes for the batteries of each of the team members, everyone has to stay 100% motivated and concentrated, every unnoticed detail will be punished.

In all this, we must not lose sight of the fact that the winning team aspires to more than just winning a race, even if that is the world championship. The Leuven students' main concern is to raise awareness among the general public and young people in particular about renewable energy and sustainable technologies. Entrepreneurship is also high on the team's list of priorities.

Willem Jan Claes

We are enterprising industrial engineers.

Engineers with a mission. We have shown the world that Belgium and our university are at the cutting edge of technological innovation!

Solar team championship day5-105