More and more engineering students are plugging in to Baja SAEIndia to showcase their efforts at electric mobility. This year’s competition saw 32 teams participate, of which 11 teams qualified for the final race.
16 Mar 2016 | 20145 Views | By Kiran Bajad
Electric mobility is making its presence felt, more so in the developed markets of Europe and the USA than in emerging markets.
In India, where adequate infrastructure for electric vehicles is yet to be established in a big way, most OEMs are developing e-variants of their existing models, probably ...
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Electric mobility is making its presence felt, more so in the developed markets of Europe and the USA than in emerging markets.
In India, where adequate infrastructure for electric vehicles is yet to be established in a big way, most OEMs are developing e-variants of their existing models, probably to be ready for the e-revolution as and when it happens in the country and when the government offers enough incentives to make these eco-friendly vehicles viable for buyers and profitable for their manufacturers.
That e-mobility will be, to some extent, part of the country’s future can be easily gauged from the fact that the annual Baja SAEIndia contest, which is mainly about petrol-driven all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), has seen a surge in the number of participants for the electric-driven ATV competition.
As many know, the Baja SAEIndia is an annual event for undergraduate engineering students and organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Its overarching aim is to develop passion among students and build a new generation of future-ready engineers for the automotive industry. The competition is held in eight countries including India.
The inaugural eBaja India contest held last year saw 8 teams participate. This year’s contest saw a four-fold increase in the number of contestants – 32 teams plugged in, of which 11 teams qualified for the final race. Considering there is no institute currently in the country which imparts knowledge to students on how to build hybrid and electric vehicles, Baja SAEIndia has become a platform for electric mobility and a number of mechanical engineers fuel their passion by developing their own versions of electric vehicles. Essentially, it sees engineering students get to build an electric vehicle on the same dynamics of the Baja rulebook. eBaja ATVs run on electric power using an electric motor powered by rechargeable lithium ion battery packs.
Like always, Baja 2016, the ninth edition of the event in India, was held at NATRiP’s NATRAX racetrack at Pithampur, Indore on February 20-21. The three-day event started with a basic Static Evaluation round which comprised of design evaluation, cost evaluation and marketing presentation. In the final round, the teams showcased their prototype of a rugged single-seat, off-road recreational four-wheel vehicle and were evaluated on various parameters, including engineering design, cost and technology innovation. The objective of the competition is to simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Each team’s goal is to create a safe, easily transported, easily maintained and fun-to-drive prototype without any direct involvement from professional fabricators. However, the teams are free to design their own transmissions with the only restriction being the speed limit to 60kph. While the Dynamic Evaluation Round tested the vehicles for acceleration, speed, hill climb and manoeuvrability, the Durability Evaluation Round saw the vehicles undergo endurance tests. The endurance event assessed each vehicle’s ability to operate continuously and at a speed over rough terrain containing obstacles in any weather conditions.
For the eBaja, Team Stallion from Smt. Kashibai Navale College of Engineering, Pune was the big winner in the eBaja, taking home a number of wins. It won first prize for costs, overall static, acceleration and second prize in maneuverability and durability, enough to help it bag top honours as the ‘Best eBaja Team’ and a cash prize of Rs 100,000. The other awards added another Rs 190,000, which meant overall rich pickings of Rs 290,000 for its effort.
While the Durability round was won by Team Vidyutashwa from the Deogiri Institute of Engineering and Management, Aurangabad, the overall Static round was topped by Team Falcon Racers from the RVR & JC College of Engineering, Pune. The Maneuverability round was won by Team Shatashva from the UV Patel College of Engineering, Mehsana.
Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, has been at the forefront of the Baja SAEIndia programme in India. Commenting on this year’s edition, he said: “Participating teams are showing passion and knowledge about electric and regular vehicles. It makes me feel that India’s engineering base of its students is very wide and there is a lot of depth in the engineering education in India. It is up to industry to find these nuggets, bring them to companies and have them work on real-world engineering problems, develop automobiles for the future, innovate for the future. I have always believed that Indian automotive engineering will continue to excel in the world as it is already doing in some parts,” added Dr Goenka.
Speaking specifically on eBaja, he added: “I am impressed with the understanding the team members displayed about electric vehicles. It was not just about getting a battery from the organiser, putting some wires together and getting a car ready. They really understood how electric vehicles work.”
The e-Baja contest in India has an interesting history. It is learnt that the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, had suggested to the organising committee that they should utilise the Baja platform for national prosperity. As a result, the eBaja came into being last year, its goal being to enable young minds and offer them an opportunity to experiment and explore electric mobility, which is touted to be the future of all things on wheels.