Every year, the press is alight with news of innovative students from across the world putting together truly incredible and exciting innovations. Among the most exciting, though, is that of a group of Slovakian students who put together the first ever compressed air car. While it does have some problems and limitations, as one might expect, it’s a hearty step in the right direction for a very interesting and innovate industry.
The students, who are part of Engineering Faculty of the Technical University in Kosice (TUKE), put together the first-ever Slovak car that is powered entirely with compressed air. Taking around one academic year, the project was a major success. It uses a three-wheel frame and is operated using an air-operated, three-cylinder engine with a volume of around 1,885 cubic centimeters.
With practically no emissions being released, then, the car can do the job intended: it can drive without leaving any signs of pollution. For that reason, it has become hugely popular in a short space of time. A full student project, its’ a hugely impressive undertaking. According to Ivan Virgala, the reader of the Mechatonic Institute of TUKE: “It was a student project, they designed the construction, electronic and steering system under the guidance of educators,
“The aim was to design the car effectively,”
Capable of around 2-3km of distance and with speeds as high as 40km per hour, this is very impressive. It uses a 20MPa air pressure solution that is contained in a 10l tank. Using a pneumatic engine, a trio of cylinders work together to help make sure that the car can move, activating one by one.
Around 2.4m long and around 1.5m wide, this 150kg car is a very impressive feat of engineering work. However, it does have some limitations that might inhibit its usage.
The pros and cons of air compressed transport
For one, the sheer limitation on tank storage volume is big problem. it’s quite limited as to how far it can actually go, meaning that you would need to be quite unambitious with the locations you wished to visit. The speed, too, and the fact it’s so limited in terms of space and driving comfort, means that it would obviously be quite a limited driving experience.
The fact that fuel can more or less be picked up for free, though, makes it pretty easy to see the pros as well as the cons of come to life here. If nothing else, it is a unique feat of technological innovation that should be applauded: to see students put together such a smart solution is very impressive.
Were the limitations with space and the like to be solved, then you would be much more likely to find it easy to see these kinds of cars on the road. For now, though, this is an interesting example of just how far technological innovation can take us and the massive impact that it can have upon our quality of life. Would you drive an air compressed car?