Course Websites

ECE 217 - Solar Car

Last offered Fall 2024

Official Description

The course covers high-level aspects of the design, construction, analysis, and economics of solar-powered electric vehicles. Topics bridge a variety of engineering disciplines integrated together with business to present a cohesive overview highlighting complexities of solar-powered vehicles. Students gain hands-on experience working with the Solar Car Team to build the next solar car and learn early in their curriculum that a multidisciplinary understanding is essential to create complex systems. Course Information: May be repeated in separate terms up to 2 hours. Prerequisite: ECE 110.

Related Faculty

Course Director

Goals

  • Introduce multidisciplinary engineering through a real-world project.

  • Foster hands-on experience with a competitive solar car team (Brizo, Calypso).

  • Teach systems-level design, analysis, and optimization of solar-powered vehicles.

  • Inspire entrepreneurial thinking by exposing students to business and operations.

  • Develop students' communication and collaboration skills in a technical team environment.

Topics

  • Introduction to Solar Car Systems

  • Electrical Subsystems & Power Electronics

  • Mechanical Design & Materials

  • Operations & Logistics (On-road readiness)

  • Aerodynamics and Body Fabrication

  • Business Management and Team Operations

  • Strategy for Racing and Competition

  • Data Acquisition & Visualization

  • Mold Manufacturing Techniques

  • Team History and Knowledge Transfer

Detailed Description and Outline

ECE 298AB - Solar Car introduces undergraduate students to the complexities and excitement of building a competitive solar vehicle. The course blends technical engineering with project management and entrepreneurial insight, using UIUC’s solar car "Brizo" as a platform. Students attend weekly lectures led by team leaders, professors, and industry experts across mechanical, electrical, materials, and strategic disciplines. Outside class, students engage with the Illini Solar Car team for a minimum of two hours weekly to contribute to the design, testing, or improvement of car subsystems.

Students will propose, execute, and present a semester-long project focused on any subcomponent or system interaction within the car. The class culminates in a final presentation and the creation of a detailed wiki page, both of which serve as documentation and knowledge transfer for future team members. Onboarding and active team participation are also required to ensure students contribute meaningfully to ongoing efforts.

Computer Usage

Students are expected to use computers regularly throughout the semester for the following purposes:

  • Project Design and Simulation:

    • Use of CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks, Fusion 360) for mechanical design tasks.

    • Circuit simulation tools (e.g., LTspice, MATLAB/Simulink, or KiCad) for electrical subsystem analysis.

    • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools for mechanical/aerodynamic modeling (as needed).

  • Data Visualization and Analysis:

    • Analysis of real-world solar car telemetry using Python, Excel, or MATLAB.

    • Presentation of data trends and performance metrics in final reports.

  • Documentation:

    • Wiki page creation using the team’s content management platform (Markdown/HTML familiarity helpful).

    • Report writing and final presentation preparation using Word, PowerPoint, or LaTeX.

  • Collaboration:

    • Access to Git repositories (for CAD files, firmware, or documentation sharing).

    • Use of cloud platforms like Google Drive or Microsoft Teams for collaboration.

    • Regular check-ins and updates via email or team collaboration tools like Slack/Discord.

Topical Prerequisites

Students enrolling in this course are expected to have completed ECE 110: Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering, or have equivalent foundational knowledge. Specifically, students should be familiar with:

  • Basic circuit theory (Ohm’s Law, Kirchhoff’s Laws, voltage/current division)

  • DC and AC analysis

  • Introductory electronics (resistors, capacitors, diodes, basic op-amp concepts)

  • Basic energy concepts (power, efficiency, conservation of energy)

  • Problem-solving skills using MATLAB or Python (helpful but not required)

  • Familiarity with engineering design process and hands-on lab skills (recommended)

While not mandatory, exposure to CAD tools, programming, or microcontroller platforms (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi) is advantageous for final project work.

Texts

Primary Text:

  • Instructor Notes and Solar Car Wiki – These will be the primary sources of content and technical documentation. Students are expected to review the wiki regularly and refer to instructor-provided notes for in-depth understanding.

Recommended References:

  1. Thacher, Eric F.Solar Car Primer: A Guide to Design and Development, Trafford Publishing.
    A practical resource covering the technical and strategic aspects of solar car development.

  2. Tamai, GoroThe Leading Edge: Aerodynamic Design of Ultra-Streamlined Land Vehicles, Robert Bentley, Inc., 1999.
    An excellent reference for understanding low-drag vehicle design principles.

Course Goals

This course aims to introduce students to the multidisciplinary nature of engineering through the design, analysis, and operation of a solar-powered electric vehicle. By working with UIUC’s solar cars such as “Brizo" or "Calypso” students will gain hands-on experience and systems-level insight across electrical, mechanical, materials, and business domains. The course emphasizes real-world problem solving, teamwork, and innovation, while encouraging students to think like engineers and entrepreneurs. Through lectures, team engagement, and independent projects, students will develop technical depth, communication skills, and an understanding of the complexity and integration required to build and race a competitive solar car.

Instructional Objectives

Intended course outcomes emphasize multidisciplinary engineering synthesis and experiential learning. Students integrate foundational knowledge from electrical circuits, mechanical design, materials science, and embedded systems to address the complex challenges involved in developing a competitive solar-powered vehicle. The course encourages both depth—evaluating problems from multiple perspectives before identifying solutions—and breadth, as the solar car project encompasses a wide range of technical domains including power electronics, aerodynamics, systems integration, data analysis, logistics, and business operations. Students will develop skills in communication, teamwork, engineering judgment, and real-world project execution through hands-on work with UIUC’s solar car team, Brizo. Lifelong learning is emphasized, as students navigate evolving design constraints and project requirements, document their work, and contribute to an ongoing, student-led engineering effort.

By the Midpoint of the semester the students should be able to:

  1. Identify the major subsystems of a solar car (e.g., powertrain, battery pack, solar array, body, control system), and describe their functions and interdependencies. (1)

  2. Apply engineering design principles to improve a subsystem or interface between subsystems, considering constraints such as performance, cost, manufacturability, and sustainability. (2)

  3. Communicate technical ideas effectively in both oral presentations and written formats, tailored to both technical peers and a broader audience. (3)

  4. Demonstrate responsibility and professionalism while contributing to a large, student-run engineering project with external stakeholders. (4)

  5. Participate in collaborative activities within the solar car team structure, including project planning, group problem-solving, and peer mentoring. (5)

  6. Use engineering judgment to analyze technical trade-offs (e.g., weight vs. aerodynamics, voltage level vs. safety), interpret data from real-world testing, and draw design conclusions. (6)

  7. Engage in self-directed learning to acquire new skills, tools, or domain knowledge required to execute their individual project successfully. (7)

By the end of the semester, the students should be able to:

  1. Define a solar car–related problem statement, propose a technical approach, and develop a timeline and milestones for an individual project. (1, 2)

  2. Implement and test a proposed improvement or analysis related to the car’s performance, subsystems, or team operations. (1, 6)

  3. Present the project results clearly in an in-class technical presentation, including problem motivation, background, methodology, outcomes, and proposed future work. (3)

  4. Document their work on the Solar Car Wiki so that future team members can replicate or build upon it, ensuring knowledge continuity within the team. (3, 7)

  5. Reflect on broader implications of their work in terms of energy sustainability, transportation innovation, and global engineering challenges. (4)

Schedule and Instructors

TitleSectionCRNTypeHoursTimesDaysLocationInstructor
Solar CarAL79952LEC11500 - 1550 F  2015 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg Arijit Banerjee