Semester End Update

At last, the last day of classes of the Fall'09 semester is almost over! With that comes an awkward mixture of relief, excitement and a realization that this also marks the beginning of finals.

All students within the team have been advised to focus only on the exams for the duration of this period, so to aid in that the team will temporarily reduce its operational activity until December 21, 2009.

If you wish to contact the team with an urgent matter please indicate that in the subject/heading of any correspondence.

Please note that, there will be one more final blog update of the year after December 21st so please visit us again before the new year.

For those writing the exams, BEST OF LUCK!

The new SCHULICH AXIOM Unveiled!

After over 9 months in design, months of planning and anticipation, the University of Calgary Solar Team unveiled its third generation solar powered car, the SCHULICH AXIOM!

November 23, 2009 marked the writing of an important chapter in the team’s history. The SCHULICH AXIOM is faster, lighter, and more energy efficient! But beyond masterful engineering, this car entails and captures the values of this team. Teamwork, application of past experiences and concepts learned in class, excellence carried through each generation, dedication to deliver results, and gratitude for the generous support of families, friends, mentors, advisors, and sponsors who made this possible. And as before, the team strongly believes in importance of education and is committed to maintaining an interdisciplinary mandate of the team.

The name, just like the final design, was carefully chosen based on multiple qualities and meanings. The word “AXIOM” could be defined as a self evident and necessary truth: a mathematical law that is used to solve bigger problems. Problems like the need for energy efficient power alternatives, clean and recyclable energy sources, and often lack of public understanding of these solutions. With every car, the team is making progress in making the design and efficiency more appropriate for potential practical use in near future. With a more comfortable seating, less restrictions of height and weight, the research done by the team and similar teams is already being implemented in modern day vehicles.

Analogous to the first computers, we believe that current research and application of experience allows us to build the foundation towards a brighter, cleaner, and healthier future for our community and the world at large.

Please follow the link and check the Globe and Mail (November 24, 2009) page A7 to read our story. And keep visiting us at www.calgarysolarteam.ca for more updates as we quickly approach race time!


Thanks to everyone who made this event possible, and helped us get this far!

WSC changes its name!

It began as one man's adventure across Australia in a homemade solarcar more than a quarter of a century ago. Now, in 2009, that single intrepid and pioneering experiment has evolved into the world's leading solar vehicle expedition across a landscape that is as remarkable as the vehicles that traverse it.

It was announced that the World Solar Challenge is changing its name to Global Green Challenge to include "latest advances in hybrid, electric, solar, low emission, and alternative energy vehicles."

The Solar Team took part in WSC'05 with Soleon, and in WSC'07 with Schulich I to come in first out of Canadian teams. Check out the photos of the WSC race in the gallery accessible from the home page.

To read more about the race click here for great content about the route, contestants, and much more.

Event planning and much more

Amidst the midterms and the assignments, the team’s current mission is to complete the preparation for the largest unveiling ceremony we’ve ever organized. With the days starting at 8 am with anything from event logistics meetings, media training, banner preparation, invitations and much more, the excitement within the team is rising!

On another note, we want to welcome the new Solar Team members joining us this fall. This year’s recruitment round was a huge success and we look forward to working with more students coming from faculties of communication, business, education, engineering, and sciences.

Watch out for more updates about the unveiling ceremony and the preparations for it!

Update!

Hello UC Solar Team Followers

First things first. Sorry for not updating our blog in such a long time, rest assured however the team has been working extremely hard on developing our newest car. The mechanical team has been running on all cylinders, and here is just a quick snapshot of what they have been up to. The plug (male mold of the car) has been produced! This is a huge step forward as it allows to start producing the mold for the aeroshell. The chassis team has been doing design work and producing mock chassis, as well as doing material testing in preparation for developing the prototype frame. Suspension is being designed and built.

Our Electrical team has been motoring along quiet well also, and here is a bit of the work they have been doing. The solar cells have arrived! We are preparing to do testing on all of the cells to determine which ones to use on the car, and are working on developing methods to put them together into panels. We are implementing and testing improvements to our battery management systems. We have been testing different motor controllers, and will soon be testing different motors. The goal is to determine which motor and controller is most efficient for us under different conditions. Our instrumentation team has also been hard at working improving car communications.

Everything is slowly coming together and we are looking to have a prototype completed in September for testing.

We would also like to give thanks to all those people who came out to see our team and car at the following events.

May 31 - Lilac Festival - we showcased our car, and the lilac festival had an attendance of over 100,000
June 3 - Showcased car at Mayor's Environment Expo
June 5 - Sneak a Peek to Campus Fair (showcased car to school groups)
June 6 - Campus Fair

Stay tuned for more updates, as the team is hitting our summer build phase.