DLSU wows high school students with eco-car

MANILA, Philippines - De La Salle University (DLSU) engineering students are making the rounds of Manila’s high schools showcasing a car they designed and built for the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia, an annual competition developed by Shell to encourage youths to design, build and test energy-efficient vehicles.

“We want to raise public awareness on the car we built to help protect the environment and to save on fuel cost,” says Mo Papio, manager of the university’s SEM team. “The electric car produces zero carbon emission and costs only P5 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to run.”

The car, “DLSU 101,” was DLSU’s entry to last year’s SEM Asia held in Sepang, Malaysia. It placed seventh overall in the prototype battery electric category. The 45-kilogram car registered a mileage of 270 kilometers per-kWh.

The fourth year Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) student of DLSU adds, “We also want to inspire high school students to take up engineering in college so they will be the next ones to build an even better car of the future.”

Papio’s team kicked off their campus tour by bringing DLSU 101 to the Manila Science High School (MSHS) along Taft Avenue last month.

Papio and his teammates — Marlon So, Ronniel Olfato, John Russel Lato, CJ Bayron and Janelle Ong— explained to third -year students of MSHS the technological features of DLSU 101.  The team, composed of engineering students in various disciplines, explained how each of them contributed to building the vehicle.

DLSU 101 is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack and has an aerodynamic carbon fiber monocoque body, battery management system, telemetry system, data logging system, cruise control, sensors, global positioning system and dual LCD display for the driver.

Civil engineering students in the team tested the materials used for the car while the ECE students made the electrical system. The team’s mechanical engineering students, meanwhile, took charge of the steering system while those with manufacturing and engineering management expertise designed and fabricated the gears and the body. Computer engineering students also contributed in making the computerized parts of the car.

The MSHS students not only learned about the theories and concepts behind the car, but were able to interact with the vehicle and inspect its interiors and other parts. Some lifted the car to appreciate its lightweight design and construction. Selected students were even allowed to drive the car on the campus’ quadrangle.

DLSU 101 team member Olfato also revealed that they are currently working on a new four-wheel, battery-powered car as DLSU’s entry in the urban concept category for the upcoming “2013 SEM Asia.”

Some 1,500 students from 18 Asian countries will participate in this year’s SEM Asia, which will be held from July 4 to 7 at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other Philippine schools participating in SEM Asia this year are Mapua Institute of Technology, Don Bosco Technical College, University of Santo Tomas, Technological Institute of the Philippines–Quezon City and Manila, University of San Carlos, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Manila.

 Bayron, an MSHS alumni himself, values the importance of participating in SEM in order to help produce a futuristic car that emits less pollutants to the environment. “I also want to represent DLSU and the Philippines in an international competition,” he says.

Papio describes the SEM as an important competition because of the goal to inspire student contestants to achieve fuel efficiency instead of speed, which entails bigger consumption of fuel. “We also experience friendship and camaraderie as we work toward a common goal of building a car of the future,” he concludes.

For information, visit the Shell Eco-marathon site at www.shell.com/ecomarathon.