Picture this: A vehicle that looks like a car,runs at 50 km per hour,but does not require petrol or diesel. Seven students from IIT-Bombay,have developed a three-wheeled vehicle that runs on human power derived by pedalling in a recumbent position that will enable the driver to apply more force on the pedals. The IIT team will showcase the vehicle at an international competition for human-powered vehicles being hosted by the Montana State University and organised by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. We have designed a tricycle with an aerodynamic shell to cover it. The shell is crucial as it will reduce the resistance one feels when someone travels against air and will increase the vehicles speed. The final product will look similar to a car with human muscle power or pedalling as the only source of energy. The aim was to design a vehicle which is engineered for everyday use,from commuting to a nearby workplace or commuting within a big campus or for carrying goods from the market,among others, said Rohit Singwal,a third-year mechanical engineering student at IIT-B. Besides,the single-seater vehicle will also have a windscreen,headlights and reflectors. While the prototype is ready,the final design has been sent for manufacturing and will be ready this week. The IIT-B project is funded by ONGC and GAIL (India) Ltd and the vehicle will be named Param. The human-powered vehicle competition has been taking place for several years and its for the first time that our students are participating. The western world has access to better material,infrastructure and standards of manufacturing. Despite these limitations,our students have met international standards and have done a good job. The best speed achieved at such a competition has been 90-95kmph. So,coming first is not our criterion at the moment. By and large,our team should perform well there, said C Amarnath,IIT-B professor who mentored the students. The practicality,reliability,speed and endurance of the vehicle are factors which the team took into account while designing it. It is a sustainable and practical transportation alternative for covering short distances. The health benefits are an added advantage, said Singwal. While the team started working on the vehicle last July,the aim was to extract maximum human power. Trial runs have also been conducted. The maximum speed that a such a human-powered vehicle has achieved is 132 kmph. Since this is the first time we have attempted to build such a car,we limited our speed to 50kmph, said Ayush Chandak,third-year mechanical engineering student at IIT-B. We have been encouraging and supporting student-driven projects. Our student-satellite programme is going strong. Our students have been doing well at competitions abroad like MITs international genetically engineered machines competition. This time,too,they will do very well. Such initiatives enable them to do hands-on work and translate what theyve learned in class into a real project, said Devang Khakhar,director of IIT-B. The team said building the prototype and the final design was difficult owing to lack of resources. Since the material was not available in India,it had to be imported from the US.
