Thanks RS Components!
Last week, Simon and Sandeep from RS Components Australia arrived at our workshop with some invaluable equipment and components. This is the third year RS has supported our team, and we cannot thank them enough for this. Amongst a lot of goodies were: 2x Agilent USB capable multi-meters, a tap and die set, an awesome [...]
New Driver Display
Despite the complexity of most of Sunswift IVy’s electronics sometimes a simple change can make a significant difference. As a new member of the Sunswift team my first job was to create a new driver display to replace the older display which while still functional was designed to sit inside the steering wheel, a position that proved uncomfortable for [...]
Lighter Hubs for IVy Mk2
Sunswift Ivy Mk2 will be rolling on a set of new lightweight carbon fibre wheels for the upcoming World Solar Challenge. As these new wheels are geometrically different from the current ones, we worked on designing a new set of wheel hubs to fit the new wheels to the car. Design The design of our [...]
Tilt Sensor Upgrade
Since the start of the year, I’ve been working on the tilt sensor. Its purpose (as you are probably able to guess) is to measure the pitch and roll of Ivy mainly for use in roll down tests. These roll down tests are used to obtain a power vs speed curve for the car by [...]
Karina Hudson – Project Manager
Karina Hudson has taken up the reigns as Project Manager for Sunswift’s 2012/2013 World Solar Challenge Campaign. Karina is studying a double degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Physics. Karina is currently completing her fourth of five years at UNSW. Karina joined the team in 2011 on the top shell build team and attended the 2011 [...]
Sunswift IVy Observer Node (SION)
Over the past year numerous students have undertaken thesis work as part of their degree to improve components within the solar car. Irving in the electrical team has been working at NICTA on the Sunswift IV Observer Node (SION) that will replace the old PLEB (Pocket Linux Embedded Box) in the telemetry system. The PLEB was [...]
Work Begins in Earnest at the Workshop!
With 2011 World Solar Challenge fast approaching work in the workshop has intensified. Today new team members started preparing the workshop for the massive amounts of composites work we will have to do in order to get a new top shell and array built in time for The Race this October. Today was the first [...]
Sunswift IV
Sunswift IV 2009 – present Background Ivy was built in 2009 for the 2009 WSC. She was the 3rd vehicle that Sunswift had ever designed and built from scratch – although many successful elements from previous cars were retained in Ivy’s design. Achievements 6th overall in the 2011 World Solar Challenge, 1st in Production Class. 4th overall in [...]
Coverage
2010-2011 12 Jan 2011 – Solar-powered car smashes speed record – CNN [pdf] 9 Jan 2011 - Sunswift IVy claims record for world’s fastest solar-powered car – GizMag [pdf] 2008-2009 30 Oct 2009 – Sunswift Shines – UNSW, Latest News [Link] 14 Oct 2009 – Empowered by a ray of hope – The Australian [Link] 12 [...]
Our Cars
The University of New South Wales Solar Racing Team have raced many cars since they began in 1996. Below is a list of the four main cars we have produced over the years. Sunswift IV 2009 – present Ivy on the first day of racing in the 2009 WSC Background Ivy was built in [...]
