THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Imagine a scooter - or for that matter, a car - which does most of the driving by itself; and all you do is, sit tight and steer. Sounds cool, eh?
Five final-year mechanical engineering students of the Sree Chitra Thirunal Engineering College (SCTEC), Pappanamcode, have developed a futuristic two-wheeler that is an answer to all your dreams.
This second-hand Kinetic Honda modified by Anand Krishnan M., Vineeth V. Kumar, Vineeth G.L., Rajesh S.L. and Anzil N.S., features a fully- automatic acceleration and braking system. You don’t even need to worry about the motorist in front of you slamming on the brakes all of a sudden, they say.
``We’ve fitted an ultra-sonic distance meter (a sensor) on the front of the scooter. Before you start your ride, you set a desired speed, say 40 kmph. The design is such that the scooter will never cross that speed,’’ explained Vineeth G.L.
``If there’s another vehicle in front of you moving at a lower speed, your vehicle will automatically decelerate to that speed. If the motorist in front you brakes suddenly, your vehicle too will brake automatically.’’
So, what happens when you have to negotiate, say, for example, a U-Turn? Simple. The moment you press the indicator, your vehicle slows down automatically. Once you regain a straight stretch, the vehicle will automatically accelerate to the set speed. The same goes for gradients.
There’s a micro-controller into which the sensor feeds data, and it’s the former that controls the speed of the vehicle. ``This adaptive system makes the vehicle collision-free and suited to heavy traffic,’’ Anand Krishnan M. said.
According to the youngsters, it will cost about Rs 8,000 for implementing the system on a two-wheeler and Rs 25,000 on a four-wheeler. The students were guided by Rag R.L., lecturer of SCTEC.
trivandrum@epmltd.com