Riding a bicycle is not only good for health, but it does wonders to the environment as well. With the increase in price of fuel and energy, it is indeed a good idea to resort to ways that doesn’t use much of fuel. It also reduces air pollution and sound pollution and makes living much more healthier.
This is what the four Mechanical Engineering students of Srinivas Institute of Technology (SIT), Valachil, aimed at achieving with their Dual-Powered Bicycle. They created a simple but effective way to stay in sync with the environment. U. Adithi, Ajaya R. Pai, Dharmesh Patel, and Nakul A. Raichura transformed a simple bicycle into a vehicle operating on solar energy, apart from the normal pedalling to bring more pleasure to riding.
They converted the power generated while pedaling the bicycle to electrical energy by fixing a motor, which is propelled by two 12 volt batteries, to the rear wheel of the bicycle and then attaching a solar panel on to the batteries. A special two-side-threaded hub replaces the rear wheel hub; one to ride the cycle while pedalling and the other to be used when the motor is active.
The solar panel is fitted to the vehicle to generate electricity. This panel would in turn charge the batteries which would give out power that would help run the bicycle. When the power from the two batteries are low, the auxiliary battery would be used till the 2 batteries get recharged from the solar panel.
When you are tired after riding the bicycle for a long time, you can switch over to the motor mode and accelerate to carry on the journey. Once you have regained strength, you can switch to pedal mode. With a speed of up to 12kmph, this eco friendly cycle is indeed a great achievement for the students, and they intend to patent this concept. Kudos to them!
Via: Dajiworld/Mangaloremithr
