With almost all the programming working, and the car getting ever closer to being finished, the SOCKEYE looks more promising than ever. Our code has had multiple revamps including the Telemetry data and to the Cruise Control. To start, our car is primarily run on two microcontrollers (Teensy 4.1s), which both have their unique duties […]

There is a long lasting proverb that says, “you’re only halfway done when you think you’re 90% finished.” So, with the PCB done and the mechanics of the car all together, the car appears to be all together. But as the proverb goes, that last 10 percent will take tremendous work from our electrical, software […]

As we wait for a sunny weekend to test SOCKEYE, we are simultaneously implementing a new printed circuit board to replace the interconnecting board shown below. Our interconnecting board houses microcontrollers, current sensors, and power distribution modules for all low-voltage components of the car. 

In the coming weekends, we are hoping to start testing SOCKEYE in preparation for the race. Of course, this will rely on many extraneous factors such as weather, so it may take a few weeks. In the meantime, we are making some not-so-interesting final preparations. Instead of talking about that, let’s take a trip to the past and revisit just a few parts of SOCKEYE’s design that were overshadowed in last year’s blog posts.

As the team continues to progress toward Texas, it is important to revisit old projects to see how they can be improved. One of these projects is the open-top trailer that was built for the 2022 race. With SOCKEYE’s new wheel profile, we needed to modify the trailer to fit. Unfortunately, as the new design […]

Kicking off the new year, we’ve been working around the clock to perfect SOCKEYE for the 2024 National Solar Car Challenge. Throughout January, our members have participated in ongoing projects as we continue to prepare for testing the car, with many members stepping up to lead their own projects.

As 2023 comes to a close, we are well on our way to having an improved solar car. We are hard at work, carrying out projects that we were not able to implement last year due to time constraints, and finding new ways to improve Sockeye’s performance. In this busy season, many of our new […]