Kaohsiung students prepare to take solar car to Australia for race of a lifetime

2023-08-14

Students at a Kaohsiung college are preparing to take their own solar car to Australia for the race of a lifetime. Their electric car Apollo No. 9 runs on sunshine, and charges its own battery when the sun is out. In Australia, it will take on a desert racetrack of more than 3,000 kilometers and race against competitors from all over the world. Let’s visit Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology to see the team put the finishing touches on their baby before its big trip.

The solar-powered electric car Apollo No. 9 has a top speed of 110 km/h. The solar battery on its roof automatically charges on a clear day.

The dozen-strong team carries out the final preparations with the utmost care, getting the vehicle ready to travel. They’re heading to Australia for a competition this October, a huge event in the global solar car development field.

Ai Ho-chang
NKUST professor
The difficulty level at the competition is world-renowned, because the course is more than 3,000 kilometers long, and it passes through desert areas that are completely uninhabited.

Chen Yu-an
NKUST Student
The driver will wear this safety helmet. We will install these metal anti-rolling-disks on the whole car, to minimize the risk of the driver getting injured if the car takes a crash or rolls over.

NKUST professor Ai Ho-chang has been teaching students how to research and develop solar vehicles for 25 years. He says the race in Australia won’t be a test of speed. It’s about endurance.

Ai Ho-chang
NKUST professor
You can’t charge the battery every day, so if the weather conditions are bad and there’s not enough sunshine coming down, how can you make the best use of your limited electricity to keep your vehicle moving?

Shen Kao-shu
NKUST student
The electric products are mainly the repair tools on the car, and some material backups for replacements.

The Apollo team are excited to head down under to represent Taiwan. That 3,000 kilometer track will be a huge test, putting the vehicle at the mercy of the weather and the elements.

高科大太陽能車隊十月將赴澳洲挑戰荒漠路程

2023-08-14

高科大太陽能車隊海外征戰紀錄，繼2021年到車檢最嚴苛的美國賽亮相，獲得安全認可之後，十月要到澳洲參賽，挑戰3千多公里的荒漠路程，車隊成員正在做最後打包，準備裝箱海運。

阿波羅九號太陽能電動車，時速最高可達110公里，車頂鋪設太陽電池，可利用晴天時自動充電。

車隊成員一行十多人，小心翼翼的進行最後打包作業，要參加十月在澳洲舉辦的比賽，這是全世界太陽能車發展的一大盛事。

[[高科大模具工程系教授艾和昌]]
“這個比賽的難度，大概也是世界上有名的困難的，因為一趟路程是3千公里以上，經過的地方都是無人煙的荒漠地帶。”

[[高科大模具工程系陳昱安]]
“賽車手會有這個安全帽攜帶，我們整車都會裝這種金屬的防滾輪，以防說碰撞或是翻滾的時候，可以讓駕駛的受傷降到最低。”

高科大教授艾和昌帶領學生，投入太陽能車的研發與製作技術25年，他認為這次到澳洲參加比賽，不是比快，而是一場耐力持久賽。

[[高科大模具工程系教授艾和昌]]
“你不可能是每天充電，所以天候狀況要是很差的時候，太陽光下來又不足，你如何能夠調度有限的電，讓車子持續運行。”

[[高科大模具工程系沈亮妤]]
“電力的物品主要就是車子上面的維修工具，還有一些材料備品可以更換的東西。”

阿波羅車隊要代表台灣出征，面對3千公里的荒漠路程，要克服氣候等條件，對車子與車隊成員來說，將是一大挑戰。