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Kerala Kaumudi Online
Friday, 29 March 2024 3.43 PM IST

Kerala engineering students develop electric car win laurels at international competition

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An electric car designed by engineering students from Government Engineering College Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram with the mentorship of Acsia Technologies bags award and special mention titled International Award for Safety from Dupont and Honorable mention for International Award for Technical Innovation at the International Energy Efficiency Competition, Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) 2022, held at Pertamina Mandalika circuit at Indonesia. Dr.R. BINDU, Minister for Higher Education, Government of Kerala supported the team in accessing grants and other government schemes.

‘Vandy’, the electric car designed by Pravega, a team of 19 students from the mechanical stream of the college emerged as the best, from multiple entries across the world. The students went through various stages of interviews and tests before making it to the achievement.

“It's truly an accomplishment for us. This project offered us a unique opportunity to utilize and widen our engineering skills to create something which is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Our gratitude goes out to everyone who supported us, especially to Acsia Technologies for their invaluable mentorship as we embarked on this mission,” said Kalyani S. Kumar, Team Leader, Pravega, which was one among the five teams that qualified from India for the international level of the event.

It took the team almost ten months to complete the prototype electric car that received much attention from the panel. Vandy weighs almost 80 kgs, with a top speed of 27 kmph.

“It is very exciting to see our students winning two major achievements at a global competition. As a mentor, we are proud to have guided the students from the college in creating an electric vehicle that embodies this value. Our goal is to continue to mentor our student community, imparting relevant knowledge, increasing their industry readiness, and supporting their growth towards becoming world-class engineers," said Jijimon Chandran - Founder & CEO - Acsia Technologies.

The vehicle design was based on the biomimicry of Tiger Sharks who are known to eat plastic and other such waste in the sea. The body streamlines trace the form of a tiger shark and are also made from recycled- biodegradable PLA, 3D printed and assembled in a closely stiffened structure format. The underbody is made from a composite that consists of recycled cloth and glass fiber.

The electric drivetrain features an innovative battery thermal management system that the team developed using the PCM 1-Tetradecanol, a research paper which has been published in the journal of Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments by team Prevega. Additional systems include a drowsiness detection system using non-intrusive sensors that utilises AI to identify if the driver is fit to drive or not and act accordingly.

Team Pravega received ample support from Additional Skill Acquisition Programme, Kerala during their programme on Industrial safety held at CSP Mananthavady, and is also supported by various governmental and non-governmental organizations like CCI, PTA-GECB, Tech Education Quality Information Portal (Tequip), Translational Research and Professional Leadership Centre (TPLC),

Advanced Diploma In Automotive Mechatronics (ADAM), Kerala Technological University, Acsia Technologies, Canara Bank and Red Maple Realtors.

The vehicle was made under the guidance of Dr. Bijulal D, Principal, Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Bindu Kumar, HoD, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Anish K. John, Faculty Advisor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The Shell Eco-marathon is an international competition where students from all around the world design, build, and test cars. The goal is to build cars with high mileage, both in the electric and gasoline categories.

The group members of Team Pravega are Kalyani S Kumar (Team leader) GS Amal Krishnan, Hithin Krishna, Akhil Nishad, Joshwin T Rajan, Pranav Binulal, Prahlad Vivek, Sooraj SJ, A Arjun, Goutham Sai Krishna, Aaron Clarance, Aamy Ceasar, Niyuktha R Krishna, Ananthu A.

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TAGS: ENGINEERING, STUDENTS, KERALA, ELECTRIC CAR, INTERNATIONAL, COMPETITION
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