Eco Kart, an initiative that operates on the principle: ‘Lets paint the Earth green’, is a platform where students learn to make the best use of technology, eliminating wastage of time and capital. It is a national eventwhere students pursuing an engineering degree/diploma are asked to design and fabricate a single passenger electric vehicle operated via a battery.
The competition not only helps students build interest in automobiles, but also helps them build team work and management skills. Students have to fabricate the kart as per the given rulebook. Tulaites, a team of 15 exceptional mechanical minds with faculty advisors Ravindra Mamgain and Ankit Jain, have fabricated an electric kart with a new generation technological feature: an alcohol detector that will prevent the car from operating if the driver is drunk. In the virtual round of the competition, the team has secured first rank in Uttarakhand and the 13th position nation-wide. The team speaks to EDGE.
Conceptualisation
We developed this concept from past experiences. We thought that we would get practical exposure through this project, and develop overall personality, as it is all about team work. At present, we are facing problems such as limited fuel and high pollution. With the help of such initiatives, students can think out of the box and improve their capability to provide multiple solutions to these problems. The most important point is that the kart is battery operated; so there is no need of any fuel and hence no pollution. It also has the alcohol sensor to check if the driver is drunk, and the kart won’t operate in such a situation. All this proves to be the ‘need of the hour’ for the automobile sector.
Viability
As the name suggests, Eko Kart means eco-friendly; no pollution and low cost. The speed can be increased by using a high rated motor. Its affordability will also serve as its USP. The cost of fabrication of the Eco Kart is not as high as that of other vehicles; it will cost up to ₹75,000 only.
Future plans
We have participated in this competition for the first time and the team has learnt a lot through it. So we have planned to participate next year as well with newer designs and innovations.
