KENNESAW, Ga.
(Sep 30, 2021) — Kennesaw State University’s Electric Vehicle Team won big at its latest competition,
setting a track record and bringing home first place in the autonomous division, and
second place in the driven competition.
The team, part of the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SPCEET), traveled to Purdue University to compete in the evGrand Prix, an annual,
electric go-kart racing event.
“Over the past two years we’ve spent countless hours and countless nights working
to improve our go-karts,” said Andrew Goeden, president of the Electric Vehicle Team and third-year computer science major. “We’ve done a lot of research and spent so much time making sure all of our
hardware and software was up to the task.”
The Electric Vehicle Team serves as an opportunity for students from different backgrounds
to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to all aspects of the design and build
process of electric vehicles. Goeden said their constant preparation paid off, especially
when the team hit some bumps in the road when they arrived in Indiana.
“Our planned systems ended up not working because of unforeseen issues, but because
we had tested so many different software solutions, we had another option,” he added. “We
got our backup solutions working, and when we first ran the solution, we saw the go-kart
slowly creeping around the first turn on the track. The entire team was watching it,
like watching a baby taking its first steps.”
The team’s autonomous go-kart, Voltron, uses sensors to determine the location of
cones along the track and includes redundant emergency and dynamic braking systems. Voltron
started as part of an electrical engineering senior design project in 2018, and since then has been continually upgraded. On competition
day, KSU’s autonomous vehicle broke a track record, completing one lap in one minute
and three seconds. The team’s driven go-kart, Evenger, has a top speed of 60 mph and includes front brakes
and regenerative braking, which allows the kart to be driven around tight corners.
In addition to the first and second place finishes, Kennesaw State’s team received
the Sportsmanship Award for helping some of their competitors.
“We’ve been talking with the competition organizers and other teams for so long, we
knew what their limitations were,” Goeden said. “Once our go-kart was running properly,
we started dedicating some of our efforts to helping the other teams improve their
hardware.”
The combination of teamwork and friendly competition has become a recipe for success
over the years. The KSU Electric Vehicle Team has competed in the evGrand Prix since the club’s founding in 2013 and continues to rack up awards. Goeden said it’s important for students to find
clubs that align with their interests and future goals.
“You don’t have to be a robotics major, and you don’t have to have any experience
to join our team,” he said. “Over the years, we’ve built a collection of research
documents and learning material, and we teach everyone how to do the research and
apply it.”
Bill Diong, advisor to the team and professor of electrical engineering, said the
success of the Electric Vehicle Team adds to the rich legacy of SPCEET students excelling
in design competitions.
“Their phenomenal achievements are a testament to the students’ self-motivation, hard
work and learned ability at engineering practice,” Diong said. “The vitality and success
of SPCEET’s various student competition teams highlights an impactful and valuable
aspect of the KSU engineering experience that engages and motivates students and helps
prepare them to be the kind of engineers that many companies are keen to hire.”
The team regularly upgrades its go-karts and hopes to create one that is both smart
and can be driven, similar to a Tesla. Goeden said he expects that project to take
at least two years.
– Abbey O’Brien Barrows
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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.