Roadtripping through Africa in a solar-powered car

Johannesburg -Solar panels? Check. Ion batteries? Check.
3D printer spare parts? Check.
A group of college students and lecturers are on a different type of road trip and they are driving more than 000 km and testing their solar car Ilanga II, nothing but good old Sun
\"It can reach 140 km/h,\" says Nickey Janse van renburg . \" He teaches mechanical engineering at the energy Sports laboratory at the University of Johannesburg.
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\"Because we don\'t have much sun today, we are 90 kilometers per hour, and she says that winding from the convoy to Kimberly in North Cape Town shows vehicles named after the Zulu\" sun.
Whenever they stop, they attract a group of people eager to see what a group of bright sparks can do to find clean green alternatives.
The aerodynamic lines of the orange and white Ilanga II are similar to the intersection between the capsule and the yacht, attracting happy crowds wherever she goes.
This is exactly what the university wants --
For people in towns and villages along the way, see how green technology is used in daily life.
Janse van Rensburg says Ilanga II can even plug in the wall to charge like a phone if needed.
The solar vehicle project promotes the research and development of efficient energy utilization, environmental awareness, energy management and innovative projects.
Residents of Klerksdorp took their children to the team\'s legs on Thursday --
Stretching and system
The adjustment station in the Mitsubishi garage was attracted by what they saw.
Her \"engine\" is a 300 mAh lithium-ion battery that works almost like a cell phone battery and has nearly 1 000 business cards --
The size of thin solar panels.
On this road, even the mayor came out to welcome the team, who was happy to explain how everything worked and tell people other ways to use the \"green\" technology in their daily lives.
Of course, everyone wants to see some circles and they are not disappointed.
Then it went again.
Mars RoverWarren Hurter, engineering project manager at the University\'s manufacturing research center, is one of three drivers in the test run.
He explained that the solar panels at the top of the car convert the energy of the sun into the energy in the battery pack.
The solar panel is similar to the solar panel that powers the Mars Rover, who looks around the Red Planet for signs of water activity, and its solar panel \"wings\" in four-
An hour of Mars day allows it to explore and communicate with teams on Earth.
The toolbox of Ilanga II is a 3D printer for replacing parts that may be needed for running repairs.
The 3D printer has made the steering interface, buttons, battery seat and bracket for the roof panel.
\"We don\'t need to use it yet,\" Hurter said . \".
So far they have had a small suspension problem and when they started their journey in Johannesburg, the telemetry system that measures the performance of the car is working.
\"But it\'s all part of the experience,\" says hurter, the kid who played with Lego, who took things apart and spent hours figuring out how to regroup them together.
Camping along the way, they have a support team who stay up late to adjust the vehicle.
Ilanga II is their third solar energy-
Report on final accounts after the car Ilanga.
Their team is hoping to take her to the Sasol Solar Car Challenge next year.
He won the Technology Innovation Award.
Local and international solar car developers compete in competitions between Pretoria and Cape Town as part of their work to improve technology and share ideas.
Competition for energy-efficient alternatives has led to the emergence of electric hybrids in the consumer market.
Because Ilanga II is built around efficiency, only one driver is needed.
The team scanned the shape of one of the drivers, put it into the vehicle and built it around his shape.
So only the driver of his figure suits her.
Power pump complements the team\'s efforts, working with Prof. Vivian Alberts of PTiP Innovations, who developed fully local (and international patented) thin film photovoltaic technology, they hope to pilot in rural communities in the near future.
Hurter says there is no luxury in the car except for the indicator and headlights.
The only radio is two.
The radio way the team uses to communicate.
It was a bit noisy inside because it didn\'t have the sound liner that the car usually had, but from the outside it was very quiet and there was no discharge.
The project was sponsored by companies such as Eskom and Siemens, as well as a support fleet provided by Mitsubishi, which also wanted the crew to document the fuel efficiency of their vehicles in order to conduct their own research.
When can I open one?
Not in the near future.
The Ilanga II solar vehicle project was not built for sale, but is currently being used to research and develop sustainable and green works that can be used in the real world.
They have planned to introduce the technology into village water pumps.
Viewers can look forward to seeing Ilanga II at the stop point and give lectures on its route, including trips across Namibia and Botswana.
Her itinerary is: Friday, June 19: Saturday, June 20 Kimberly-Upton (Public Lecture): (Upton)-hakeskean pan-riefendan border control-Sunday, June 21, Tuesday, June 22, june 23: windheke-swavcopmond-Walvis Bay Wednesday, June 24: Port of Whale Bay-swakopundthursday, June 25: Swakopmund-Windhoek BuiteposFriday, June 26: batpos-KangSaturday, June 27: kangsecoma-kanje-gaboroneday, June 28: Monday, June 29, Japan, habroane-UJ solar laboratory.
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