CalSMV (the Cal Super Mileage Vehicle team) competes in Shell’s Eco-Marathon competition, in which teams design fuel-efficient vehicles to be adapted into real-world transportation concepts. This year, the team competed in the Urban Concept division, designing a vehicle with features like seating, doors, windshield wipers, hydraulic brakes, and regular-size wheels. They’ve given the resulting design, which is fully electric, the name Lux.
As the team brought Lux to life during the 2017-2018 school year, they used Jacobs Hall’s facilities for prototyping and fabrication: team members frequently used the building’s CNC router to create the foam mold for the body and chassis, explored advanced 3D printers to create headlights, and used laser-cutters for templates and marketing. Looking ahead, CalSMV members are excited to refine their design and to keep working on new solutions for real-world transportation problems. Team member Derek Pan says, “I loved the creation of Lux and that’s what engineering is for me, visually and collaboratively. Having the team working on it has reframed transportation and what the future of it is for me.”
Learn more about CalSMV and how to get involved.