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Pit stops in this section:
UNSW SRT
Contact Us
For Press Use
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Sunswift is a full-scale, multi-disciplinary, student-led engineering
project. Students from a range of faculties from engineering to
business form the UNSW SRT. They volunteer their time and skills to
fund, design, build, equip and drive a state-of-the-art solar-powered
car. With guidance from the University of NSW and with the support of
the project's technical partners and sponsors
the project provides an unprecedented theoretical-learning and hands-on
experience for university students.
UNSW Sunswift II becomes first solar-electric
vehicle to use Sydney's Eastern Distributor
Sunswift was the brainchild of final-year electrical engineering
student, Byron Kennedy, who in 1995 was searching for an exciting
thesis project. He assembled a team of engineering students, acquired
a defunct racing car from a rival solar racing team, and began the
process of readying the car to race in the 1996 World Solar Challenge
race from Darwin to Adelaide.
Since then, Sunswift has been the flagship engineering project within
the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW. Over the past 10 years, hundreds
of students have poured sweat, determination, hope and trepidation
into the design, construction, testing and racing of their solar
vehicle. They've raced all over Australia - Darwin to Adelaide, Perth
to Sydney, Sydney to Melbourne, Adelaide to Sydney - they've faced
their adversaries, made new friends and learned, first-hand, about
high profile engineering projects.
2001 UNSW SRT
| Jaycar Sunswift III |
The team's current vehicle, Jaycar Sunswift III, is a leader on the
international stage, boasting advanced aerodynamic design and
high-efficiency electrical systems. It seats two people, with an array
consisting of about eleven square metres of solar cells. It will
average 100 km/hr on just over 2kW of energy, which is about the same
amount used to power a vacuum cleaner! Developed using high-tech
computational fluid dynamics techniques, Jaycar Sunswift III's sleek
design ensures minimum wind resistance. Intelligent electrical design allows
the vehicle to convert energy generated by the solar array into electrical
driving power at an efficiency of over 95%. The car's body shell and
chassis is a carbon fibre composite structure which provides high
strength at a very low weight.
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| UNSW Sunswift II |
Over seven years, from 1997 to 2003, the team developed, refined and
raced four versions of UNSW Sunswift II. In 2000-2001 the team
embarked on the TopCell project to manufacture buried contact solar
cells to construct a new solar array. This makes the UNSW SRT the
first and only team to have made their own solar cells. Along the way
the team achieved a new world record efficiency for this type of solar
cell. The remaining cells on UNSW Sunswift II are the world's highest
efficiency "PERL" silicon solar cells, made at UNSW. The team also
developed a revolutionary cell encapsulation technique which allowed
it to mould solar panels to the curved shape of the car, another world
first. To learn more about the Topcell project, please click
here.
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| Sunswift |
The original Sunswift vehicle was purchased off the Aurora
Vehicle Association in 1995, then significantly upgraded and improved
by the UNSW SRT for the 1996 World Solar Challenge. A new motor and
controller, roll cage, chassis and batteries were added. The car was
still a competitive beast despite its age, placing 9th out of over 40
entries. The experienced gained with the Sunswift vehicle
inspired the development of UNSW Sunswift II starting in 1997.
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UNSW Sunswift II on the road
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| Clara Mazzone (Project Leader): |
+61413 264 900 |
| Andrew Wrigley (Technical Project Leader): |
+61413 460 815 |
| Telephone: |
+61 (02) 9385 5149 |
| Facsimile: |
+61 (02) 9385 5993 |
| Enquiries: |
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| Postal Address: |
Room 109 Electrical Engineering Building G17,
Gate 2, High Street
The University Of New South Wales
Sydney, New South Wales, 2052
Australia
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| Website Comments: |
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| UNSW Location: |
Room 109, Electrical Engineering Building
(G17)
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To download the official Jaycar Sunswift III photograph for use in print publications,
please click
here.
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