The Mississippi State University EcoCAR 3 Team invited the Starkville Christian Home Educator (SCHE) Robotics Team to the Center for Advanced Vehicle Systems (CAVS) for a Youth Outreach Event. The SCHE Robotics Team is a local STEM team that competes in Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Robotics, a national competition that is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization. In the competition, the teams are given supplies and six weeks to act as a company to design, simulate, market, present their project, and document their processes.
During the visit, students learned about EcoCAR 3 and how it challenges 16 North American universities to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric vehicle. The MSU EcoCAR 3 Team focused on educating the students about different types of electric vehicles and how the team’s vehicle was redesigned into a Plug-In Hybrid-Electric vehicle, meaning it uses fuel and a plug-in charger to power the vehicle. The students were given a tour of CAVS as well as a special preview of the team’s vehicle where they were able to get up close and see the modifications.
After the tour, the team challenged the students to break into teams and design their own vehicle architecture based on what they had learned throughout the event. They were given guidelines and things to consider so that they could present their modified vehicles to the team. Some of the ideas that were presented included an electric-hybrid truck that is fuel efficient while hauling large loads, and a hybrid-electric sedan with a series architecture that is completely noiseless. All of the teams were proud of the vehicle they had designed and enjoyed working as a team to collaborate on innovative and fun ideas. Overall, the students were able to be creative and think outside of the box while learning about hybrid-electric vehicles.
The MSU EcoCAR 3 Team greatly appreciates the SCHE Robotics Team’s participation in the event and enjoyed hearing their innovative ideas. Check out the video from the event here:
