A solar car made by a team of students from the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) crossed the finish line first at the World Solar Challenge in Adelaide this week.
The car, named Stella Era, had to drive a 3022 kilometre route through Australia. It started in the northern city of Darwin before driving through Alice Springs to Adelaide in the south.
The students, whose team name is Solar Team Eindhoven, celebrated their success by jumping into a fountain with a few bottles of champagne. They also won the three previous editions of the challenge, in the Cruiser Class category.
https://twitter.com/SolarEHV/status/1185060920759738368
‘It looks very good’
On Sunday, after the jury’s assessment, the team will officially hear whether it will take home the world title. As well as the speed, the jury also considers the car’s interior, comfort, design and other innovations.
‘It is a bit premature to say that we are world champions,’ says Marije Sesink, a member of Solar Team Eindhoven. ‘But on the basis of the efficiency score, it looks very good anyway. We have also really focused on the car’s innovations this year. It has to be really crazy to win the prize,’ she continues.
Spotify, Netflix and Flappy Bird
The Stella Era car has a media kit on board, with several gadgets to keep passengers entertained. You can listen to Spotify, watch Netflix or play the video game, Flappy Bird. The car can steer itself and detect obstacles on the road. However, the World Solar Challenge did not permit driverless driving.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Rachael Vickerman
