Members of the company鈥檚 hiring committee were so impressed with Devon Copeland鈥檚 work with聽聽that they asked him to make a presentation about his involvement with the team.
鈥淭hey were really interested聽because a lot of the engineering challenges Tesla faces are very similar to what we鈥檝e faced with 蓝莓视频鈥檚 solar car,鈥 explains Copeland, a fourth-year 蓝莓视频 mechatronics engineering student. 鈥淲e鈥檙e both working on an electric car and we even both use the same cells in our battery packs.鈥
Copeland was the mechanical lead for the team鈥檚 2018 Midnight Sun Solar Car that competed in the聽聽(ASC) last July.
Of the 42 teams registered, only 13 completed the grueling 2,700 km race across Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho聽and Oregon. Midnight Sun was the first Canadian entry to finish the ASC with a cruiser-class vehicle and took third place overall.
The team鈥檚 award-winning car was its second entry in the cruiser class, which聽includes driver and passenger seating. After designing and building challenger-class聽鈥撀爏ingle seat 鈥撀犅爒ehicles, members shifted gears in 2014 to build their first cruiser.
In the two years between each ASC, most teams build on their existing car, hopefully improving its performance from one challenge to the next. Moving to the cruiser class forced Midnight Sun to build a new car from scratch.
Learning from defeat
Midnight Sun built its first cruiser for the 2016 ASC. After two years of design work, manufacturing, and assembling the car, it didn鈥檛 qualify for the race.
鈥淲e were devastated,鈥 says Copeland. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 qualify for the race. It didn鈥檛 drive a single lap at the competition. It didn鈥檛 work out the way we wanted or planned.鈥
After the 2016 competition, the team was deflated 鈥 but members also saw an opportunity to use what they had learned and start over.
鈥淚 thought what other time in my life will聽I have the opportunity to design and build an entire car from scratch,鈥 says聽Copeland. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not everyday that you get to do this.鈥
Starting fresh
For its next car, the team made another attempt in the cruiser class, starting with a completely new design. Using valuable lessons from the first cruiser, they were determined to qualify for and finish the 2018 ASC.
鈥淥ur goal wasn鈥檛 to win the competition,鈥 says Copeland. 鈥淲e wanted a reliable and safe car that could complete the ASC. We didn鈥檛 think we鈥檇 be able to compete with the top-tier teams because we didn鈥檛 have the experience or the money.鈥
The top teams at the ASC often have budgets well over $1 million (USD), which they use to redesign their existing cars.
In comparison, Midnight Sun worked with a聽budget of $150,000 (CAN) to design and build a totally new vehicle. Members had to be scrappy 鈥 sourcing affordable materials, manufacturing parts themselves, and limiting the number of spare parts they purchased.
Despite intense timelines and low funds, Midnight Sun was not only a top competitor at the ASC, but it won the perseverance award.