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Cars and Transport Who would have thought a three wheeled motorbike made from recycled material and called Skipee would be a new Aussie invention to take the world by storm? Who would ever try to re-invent the wheel? Someone did! Something else to check out is this Embrio, a one wheeled, hydrogen powered personal mobility device. Some amazing technology has been used in the unique Segway, while travellers in Europe can get from Paris to the Mediterranean with a lot more efficiency these days on a new bridge. It's pretty difficult to beat a transforming car but there are Australian researchers taking car technology to all new levels. They way things are going it might not be that long before we won't even need drivers licenses anymore, instead of us driving our cars around, they might drive us. Sounds like the stuff of science fiction movies but it might not be as far away as you think. Researchers at Griffith University in Queensland are designing and testing driverless cars right now. Ever thought of travelling to Mars? Orson Sutherland and his team at the Australian National University have made a new ion-engine that may one day get us there. Imagine being able to just fill your car up with water. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Scientists at CSIRO are developing a hydrogen generating device that can power a family car for up to 150km per day. Wouldn't it be nice formula-race your way to an engineering degree? Dave from the Australian National University did with Formula SAE racing. Bio-diesel fuel may mean that we can deep-fry our lunch and then use the oil to run our cars. Darren Lomman is using his love of engineering to design cars and bikes for people with a disability with his company DreamFit. The C11 Scriber was invented by a young Australian and may be the most versatile skateboard in the world! Imagine driving a funky sports car and never needing to stop for fuel. A hybrid solar electric car being developed by Adelaide University could make it a reality pretty soon. Background Notes A brief synopsis of each of the car items in our shows and links to our references.
Dimitrios Scoutas a 22 year old student from Monash University has designed a motorcycle made from recycled materials as well as being environmentally friendly. This new motor bike, named 'Skipee', is putting all other motorbikes to shame. It's new, funky design resembles a kangaroo, powered by an electric engine (cutting down on those greenhouse emissions) housed in its rear wheel and is made from recycled materials. This new design is an improvement on the design of the traditional motorbike form. Skipee, having three wheels (two in the front) improves handling and visibility of the rider. Making this new Aussie bike safe for both bike riders and the environment. Reference
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Ever tried to ride a unicycle? Well have a look at this: The Bombardier EMBRIO one-wheeler Concept is a unique hydrogen fuel cell powered, gyroscopically balanced, one-wheeled recreational and commuting vehicle. Like something out of the future - we could be riding these 20 years from now. The design brief for Bombadier EMBRIO Concept was to "create highly innovative, functional and exciting products to exceed people's recreational needs" and find the "next thing" in recreational vehicles. The result is a futuristic and minimalistic one-wheeler that is as about far away as you can get from the conventional image of a uni-cycle - a mode of transport normally associated with circuses and street parades. This vehicle has a 'stand-by configuration' landing gear type front wheel that helps provide longitudinal stability. At 20 km/h this retracts, but even without the landing gear, the EMBRIO would be stable when motionless because of the gyroscope. The rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar to accelerate and turns are made by shifting body-weight rather than actually steering. The Concept is constructed from lightweight materials and is aimed as an eco-friendly design for the duration of its life cycle. Return to top. Segway - the Revolution of Personal Transport
This thing is rather crazy and fun. All the Smart Movers had the chance to do some training, learning how to ride one of these before we departed for tour. A Segway is an electric powered personal transporter which can travel on three different levels of operation up to about 20 km/h. It is the first of its kind, designed to go anywhere you go, using gyroscopic devises to self balance. On a Segway, you can commute, shop, and run errands more quickly while enjoying a ride like nothing you've ever experienced. Reference
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Driverless Cars
To try this for yourself, blindfold a friend and get them to control a remote control car through an obstacle course while you call out directions for them.
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Can you imagine taking a holiday trip to Mars? We are getting closer to making this possible with a better type of spacecraft engine designed to travel into deep space. The engine is called DS4G (Dual-Stage 4-Grid ion thruster) works by accelerating a beam of positive ions (charged particles) away from the spacecraft to produce thrust. DS4G was designed at the Australian National University. It has already been tested by the European Space Agency and shown to be four times faster than their current technology. The speed of the ions (the exhaust velocity) from the DS4G engine reached 210 kilometres a second. Larger, higher powered versions of this engine would be able to propel a crewed spacecraft to Mars and back. Reference
Return to top. With fuel prices on the rise who will be able to afford to go anywhere in the family car? Imagine filling up with water instead. Sound like science fiction? Well, scientists at CSIRO have built a small device the size of a microwave oven that can extract enough hydrogen from water to power a family car for up to 150km per day. Reference
Return to top. National Competition Puts Rev Heads to the Test What’s going on? Who’s doing it? How do I get into it? Reference Formula-SAE Australasia website Return to top. Soaring petrol prices have been responsible for a lot of innovative thinking in Australia. With many people struggling with petrol prices, it has become almost necessary to develop alternative means to petrol. One option that is becoming more and more common is bio-diesel, and one man, who makes his own bio-diesel- Paul Martin, swears by it. Paul does not go to petrol stations at all, choosing to use his own bio-diesel made from vegetable oil. Twenty litres takes him 300km, and is worth $8. Backyard producers of bio-diesel are being applauded, but be wary if you choose to make the switch, as it can be dangerous and people have blown up their backsheds, trying to get it right. However, with the right knowledge, you can get it right and save a lot of money. References Where to from here? If you are interested in a career in Bio-Diesel, Paul may be self taught, but you can study chemistry and engineering at University. The engineering may be a help in developing bio-diesel cars. For students who want to become involved in conservation, are interested in ecological issues and want to bring about positive change, an appealing degree offered by the University of Adelaide is a Bachelor of Science (Sustainable Environment). The pre-requisites for this would be taking chemistry and maths in years 11 and 12. Return to top. After making dreams come true for people with disabilities, Darren Lomman has been named Western Australia’s Young Australian of the Year. What’s going on? After warning Darren about the dangers of riding a motorbike he revealed that his dream was to ride again and from that moment Darren went about making it happen. While studying engineering at The University of Western Australia, Darren went on to design a motorbike with hand controls and automatic stabilisers that made Shane’s dream to ride again come true. Darren won $5,000 from the Nescafe Big Break in 2005 and used it to launch DreamFit, a business that develops recreational equipment for disabled people. Who’s doing it? How do I get into it? References C11 Scriber Revolutionises Skateboards What’s going on? Who’s doing it? Ben wasn’t a straight A student, but he was dedicated and passionate about his idea. Throughout the process Ben received a lot of help from his Dad and received plenty of media attention, appearing on The Today Show, Beyond Tomorrow, and The New Inventors. Ben’s advice to other young inventors is to “stay passionate it’s a long journey but well worth it, you can never do enough research or planning and above all have fun”. How do I get into it? References Check out Ben's website at Sporty Hybrid Solar Car On The Way What’s going on? Who’s doing it? How do I get into it? References The Uni of Adelaide Hybrid Solar Electric Vehicle website Return to top.
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