CMU Robotics Institute’s initiated ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project has successfully taken the ‘green’ step forward. With the help of researchers such as Illah Nourbakhsh of the institute’s Create Lab work, in collaboration with local mechanics, they are about to unveil a 2002 Civic EX four-door sedan that has been totally converted into an electric car.
The car’s conventional power train has been compensated with a 35-horsepower electric motor along with 33 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries in the trunk space. But converting the car is not the only aim of the project, they also wanted to make the car more power efficient and enhance battery life imbued with better AI. For example, the batteries were connected to a supercapacitor, which is a high-capacitance energy storage device. And artificial intelligence algorithms were used to regulate the energy drawn from batteries and stored in the supercapacitor.
According to CMU, the converted vehicle can spurt to a speed of more than 70 mph, with a range of 40 miles in high density zones. The cost will be a little on the higher side – around $17,000, but it is also expected to fall while the ‘green’ progression continues.
Via: CNET
