– In theory Eximus IV can transport a person nearly halfway around the world using the energy contained in just one litre of petrol, says Delsbo Electric’s CTO, professor Henrik Rödjegård.
Delsbo Electric is a competition in energy efficiency where teams design and drive rail vehicles with a maximum of six passengers. The new world record for the world’s most energy efficient transportation of a person is 0.517 Wh per person per km. The Swedish team Eximus IV from Dalarna University broke their 2019 world record of 0.603 Wh per person per kilometre.
In fact, all participating vehicles in Delsbo Electric are revolutionary. Each of the vehicles in the competition consume less energy than ordinary headlights in a car.
The Eximus IV team went to extreme lengths to secure the world record. During the first race lap, the vehicle had a spike in consumption. By analysing and comparing Delsbo Electric’s open source data from 2019 and 2020, the team could isolate the peak at a particular spot along the tracks. After physically measuring the tracks they found an 8 mm difference in distance between the rails and adjusted the Eximus IV wheelbase to achieve the historical result.
– It’s easy to participate in Delsbo Electric, but it is very hard to win and still harder to break the world record. Yet we have had record results every year for the last six years, says Lars Gustavsson, competition manager at Delsbo Electric.
The HHK Innovation Award was given to the sister vehicle Eximus V for being the first ever team to use automated driving in the competition.
– This is a major breakthrough and the next thing to watch out for in Delsbo Electric is the competition between humans and machines, says Paul Bogatir, chairman of the HHK Innovation Award jury.
The whole length of the track is covered by a network capable of sending video and a constant flow of data from the vehicles. The advanced measuring equipment tracks vehicle data 2.000 times a second and pushes it online every second. Delsbo Electric will add additional data points; such as wind- and temperature sensors along the track to facilitate the development of more advanced automated systems that can react in advance to changing conditions.
Courtesy of Delsbo Electric