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| The solar electric bicycle created by UMM students. (Photo by Bahiya PR of UMM) |
In the middle of the times, people worldwide compete to utilize environmentally friendly energy sources, and so do UMM students. Initiating to create an energy-efficient vehicle, Brilly Eldon Fachrudin and his nine team members developed a solar electric bicycle. The work of Brilly can complete the concept started by his seniors, and it is considered satisfying.
“If the previous batch has not succeeded in stabilizing incoming power yet, then alhamdulillah, our team has successfully found the solution and solved the problem,” said Brilly happily.
Brilly explained how the solar electric bicycle works. The sunlight energy which enters the panel will immediately move to the battery. Then, it moves to the next machine: the controller, which links the dynamo and the gas setting.
“The sunlight is linked to the controller to stabilize the ongoing process of the power current to the battery. Meanwhile, the battery will still enter the machine in the controller. This process will link the dynamo and the gas setting so that the produced current of the battery can be stable,” explained Brilly.
Then, they also conducted a trial run in the evening when current power and sunlight were unavailable and did not enter the controller. Firstly, they used sunlight, previously entirely stored in the midday. The trial run was completed within an approximately 12-kilometer trip from Sawojajar to the Campus III of UMM at Jl. Raya Tlogomas. Overall, the trip took three of five available power bars.
Electricity from sunlight not only produces current to run the bicycle but also lights the lamps of the bicycle. In addition, Brilly and his team have changed the pedal position, which was previously put in the rear wheel. Then, the pedal was moved to the front wheel so that the bicycle could work properly and the machine could not be easily damaged.
“It benefits to reduce the use of motors, to save electricity, and to utilize the sunlight. Long-term use is also more efficient, especially when it comes to short distance use,” asserted Brilly.
Therefore, he expects his innovation to be one of the human efforts to avoid the air pollution from motor vehicles. In the future, Brilly and his team wish for this innovation to use universally. They even plan to develop a product so the used machine can be applied to various bicycles.
Also Read: Unique Stories of Two UMM Students Studying at Two Different Universities Simultaneously
Rahmat Wisnu Wardana, the Head of the Industrial Engineering Laboratory of UMM, said that the idea of this solar electric bicycle established by Brilly and his team garnered the most attention in the Product Development Exhibition 2023. Hence, it proves that the ten students’ work innovation can attract the public’s interest.
“They even did the trial run from Sawojajar to the Campus III of UMM without pedaling at all. It is cool; primarily, in general, an electric bicycle can work with a direct charger linked to the power. Meanwhile, this work uses solar electricity,” said Rahmat. (imh/bah/wil)
