Students from Beijing Institute of Technology is planning to develop a "land-based aircraft carrier." (Photo/www.bit.edu.cn)
(ECNS) -- A group of ambitious students at Beijing Institute of Technology have developed the world's first small driverless Formula One racing-car style vehicle.
Under its plain exterior, the vehicle has high-tech technologies including remote control, environmental sensing and pedestrian tracking -- and also the capacity to sprint from zero to 100km/h in 3 seconds.
Besides, a platform will be designed to carry a drone. Students call the whole design a "land-based aircraft carrier" and plan to roll it out before August 20 and compete in the Formula Student China competition scheduled for October.
Guan Chaowen, leader of the research team, said a setback in the Formula Student Germany competition in August spurred his team to close its gap with the world standard in automated driving.
The team formed in October was composed of both undergraduates and graduate students working on the basis of an electric racing car produced by the university in 2013.
In the following three months, students overcame challenges associated with remote-controlled driving to create a prototype before Hu Jibin, vice president of the BIT School of Mechanical Engineering, supervised the team in working on a larger, more advanced car.
The team recruited new members to reach a total of 74, including six PhD students, divided into five groups. Its new aim is to install a drone that could be released and connect with the car to guide more effective driving.
