National Taiwan University (NTU) will put a new solar-powered vehicle to a round-the-island endurance test starting next Monday.
Although it is not the first solar-powered vehicle made in Taiwan, it is the first to be put under this kind of testing.
Thirty students and professors from NTU's department of mechanical engineering spent two and a half years in the design and production of the vehicle they call "Formosun 1," short for "for more sun" and also a play on "Formosa."
To pass the test, the vehicle must complete the ride with an average speed of 60km per hour in four days. Professor Cheng Jung-ho (
Cheng said that although the summer break had already started, all were willing to sacrifice their vacation for the completion of Formosun 1. The base of operations, he said, was a makeshift shack without air conditioning and the crew had to work under adverse heat.
Formosun 1 is 3m long, 2m wide and 1m high. Cameras that supply images to the driver via a liquid crystal display monitor replace the rear-view mirrors.
Due to the lack of funding, the solar cells were less than ideal -- 800 of them are located on the top of the vehicle, providing a maximum output of 1,200 watts, or the equivalent of 1.6 horsepower. Ordinary gas-powered engines produce between 100 to 200 horsepower.
The biggest challenge, a researcher said, is to achieve the required speed with inadequate solar cells.
For the safety of the vehicle and its driver, all 30 students, excluding the test-drivers, will take two buses that will drive at both the front and the rear of Formosun 1.
Cheng said that he is very confident that Formosun 1 will pass this challenge. However, he is equally prepared for failure. He said that even the Wright brothers had experienced failure, and no matter the outcome this project will always be a brave scientific adventure.
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