University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project

When the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project was looking for a weather station to help them compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, they contacted Columbia Weather Systems.

A Magellan MX500™ Weather Station was mounted on a support vehicle to provide met data to help optimize power for the solar-powered, cruiser-class car dubbed "Eos II." Besides speed, cruiser-class vehicles focus on practicality and number of people in the car.

Gearing up for the race, electrical technical advisor Spencer Berglund related, "We've been test driving a lot for the past few days and have been using your weather station for gathering accurate power to drive data for our car. We will also be using it every day on the race."

The U of M Solar Vehicle Project is a student-administered, designed, and built project that teaches members about engineering and management in a complete product development environment. The diverse design and construction challenges help further the school's mission to "create the best engineers possible."

Eos II was one of only five Cruiser-Class cars to drive the entire course across the Australian outback on its own power. Congratulations team UMNSVP!

Watch for Eos II next summer at the American Solar Challenge!

Video shows Magellan MX500 on the support vehicle - look quickly!