National Contest Held for Solar-Powered Radio-Controlled Cars by High School Teams

A contest for the fastest solar-powered, radio-controlled (RC) car built by high school students was held for three days starting on August 6, 2009, in Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Out of 113 participating teams from all over the nation, the "Innocent Lily" team from Fukui Prefectural Senior High School of Science and Technology came in first place.

The contest was held under the auspices of the Solar-Powered, Radio-Controlled Car Contest 2009 Executive Committee, which is made up of representatives from Ishikawa Prefecture, Hakusan City, and the Hakusan Ichirino Spa Tourism Association, with an eye to raising awareness about the environment and energy use by harnessing solar power.

The participating teams designed and made their own RC cars using three Sanyo solar panels provided by the contest organizer, and then operated them to compete in the race. The contest rules dictated that (1) the ranking was decided by the number of circuits made by the RC cars within the allocated time limits (five minutes for the first round to the semifinals, seven for the final, and three for a consolation round), and (2) when more than one team reached the same number of circuits, the one that reached the goal first was the winner.

The top four teams, which included the "Innocent Lily" entry, won awards, and several other teams were also given awards such as the best lap-time award and the jury's special award.

Posted: 2009/12/02 06:00:15 AM