Racing through the dry, hot Australian Outback in a solar panel car against the top universities of the world, is an experience not many can claim.
Umdloti’s Robert Ben Mawbey is one the few who can add last month’s Bridgestone World Solar Car Challenge 2015 to his memorable moments.
“Working with the different teams and comparing our stuff to the rest of the world was amazing. The heat was incredible though. I will never complain about Durban summers again,” said the final year electronic engineering student from UKZN.
The seven day race started in Darwin and ended in Adelaide, 3022 kilometers later.
“This is the first time a team from Africa took part in the race. I do not think we were prepared enough for the challenge, but we learned a lot and considering our limited budget and inexperience, we did incredibly well.”
They did indeed, as they came 13th out of 30.
Mawbey built the cruise control system for “The Car” as it was lovingly called and had to continuously tweak it to ensure optimal performance.
“I was in the following car, connected to the solar car via wifi so that I could monitor the health of the car, while chatting to the team about the strategy, what speed to travel where and so on,” said Mawbey, who knew how to solder before he could write.
The solar cars raced from 8am till 5pm and you had to stop on the dot, no matter where you were, which is why planning was crucial.
“We always had an observer car to report back on the conditions ahead. This way we knew if we had to speed up to a good stopping spot for the car to sun or if we had to slow down, because boulders or hills were ahead and would limit the sun exposure before sunset at 6.30pm.”
Mawbey said the one wheel drive, 140km/h top speed, 240kg light solar car was not an easy thing to keep on the road.
“It is a horrible thing to drive. Cross winds are a serious problem as well as the kangaroos crossing the road. The solar car makes no sense, but two components of it does – solar power and electric vehicles. This is why I am so interested in this project.”
Back in KZN, the 25-year-old is hard at work on his final year project, while also working in the 3D printer manufacturing business which he does as part of his family’s business.
Check out the final day of the race here:
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