The Formula Technion Team with the Autonomous Electric Vehicle. (Nitzan Zohar/Technion Spokesperson's Office via Israel 21c) (Nitzan Zohar/Technion Spokesperson's Office via Israel 21c)
Technion Formula Car

The Formula Student competition in Europe this summer is a platform for new technological developments.

By Diana Bletter, Israel21c

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Formula race-car team unveiled the first-ever autonomous electric vehicle in the team’s history since its establishment in 2012.

They designed and built it for the Formula Student International Design Competition in Europe next month.

The Technion team placed first at the Formula Student competition in the Czech Republic in 2019, and first place in the first Formula Student Race held in Israel last year. This team also holds the title for the lightest car in the history of the European competition (132 kg).

Team leader Muans Omari, a master’s student in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, explained that the car world is shifting to electric and autonomous vehicles, and the Formula Student competitions have embraced this trend.

Nevertheless, the transition from an internal combustion engine to an electric propulsion system “took a lot of work and learning,” Omari added.

The Formula Technion team’s autonomous electric vehicle (A-EV) is no longer red and black as in past years, but blue, white and gray to symbolize electric propulsion.

The Formula Student competition is a platform for new technological developments. Each team’s performance is rated on a combination of engineering challenges plus driving skills demonstrated on the track.

The goal of the project is to enable students to acquire practical knowledge in planning as well as manufacturing vehicles.

“We are considered a good team,” Omari said. “We’re not as good as the German teams that are being supported by the largest car manufacturers and their engineers, but we already proved ourselves.”