The Antakari team is preparing to compete in this important race that will take place from October 13 to 20.

The Antakari team and the Intikallpa V solar car from the University of La Serena, built by a team of students and academics from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, are already in Australia to compete and represent the ULS, the country in Latin America, in the World Challenge 2019, where you must cross three thousand kilometers of racing in the desert of the oceanic country.

This is the third participation of the ULS vehicle in this race, standing out on this occasion for being the only Latin American solar car present in the most important world competition of its kind, which will take place from October 13 to 20.

Unlike the predecessor vehicle (Intikallpa IV), in this new construction materials used in Formula 1 cars, fighter planes and sailboats were considered. It has a more aerodynamic design than the previous one, in its front part, which allows energy consumption to be reduced by 15%.

The academic of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the ULS and professional in charge of the execution of the Intikallpa project, Camilo Moreno, stated that “the biggest change we are making has to do with the shape of the car, so that it is more efficient in aerodynamics. and in weight. “This vehicle cuts the air much better by 40%, reducing energy consumption and maintaining efficiency.”

Regarding participation in the competition, the academic of this unit, Francisca Jure, indicated that “now we have much more experience, two years ago we made links with the teams from Belgium, Japan and Sweden, which have a better level. “We have collected a lot of information and we are going to apply it all now.”

For his part, the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, along with highlighting this new participation of the University's prototype in the competition and wishing the team the greatest success, valued the capacity, effort and dedication of its members, “which has allowed them to be placed in the world's top ten in solar vehicle technology, which fills us with pride as a community.”

While the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena, Dr. Ing. Mauricio Godoy, pointed out that “it is a pride to have the best solar car in Chile, we appreciate the support of the Rector and the University. We are currently in the top ten worldwide and currently aim to be among the top three in Australia. Competing with the four best universities in the world and with countries like Japan and Holland, really positions the University of La Serena worldwide in these technologies.”

Outstanding participation in World Solar Challenge

In 2013, Intikallpa was the first Latin American vehicle to conclude the competition, reaching second place in the category. Already in 2017, it took tenth place in the main category of the race, after the solar car from Stanford University.

Written by María José Barraza, FIULS 2030 Project