Just recently completed, The World Solar Challenge was held in the outback of Australia. The race began October 6th in Darwin and finished on October 13th near Adelaid.
Held every two years, this solar-powered electric terrestrial vehicle competition always faces the extreme challenges. This year was no different.
Challenged with providing real time sharing of vehicle performance information with their support teams for the purpose of maximizing vehicle performance, several of this year’s participants relied on BGAN satellite technology supported by the Inmarsat satellite constellation.
The Netherlands-based Team Twente, The University of Michigan and the team from Kogakuin University in Japan all reported exceptional results using BGAN Satellite technology to report such information as weather forecasting, road conditions and possible driving hazards to their support teams. The teams also were able to keep supporters and the media informed of their progress by using BGAN to post images and videos on social media sites.
Along with Inmarsat, other supporting sponsors were JSAT Mobile Communications and Add Value Technologies.
“Inmarsat is proud to support the solar car teams as they seek not only to excel in this year’s World Solar Challenge but also to further global efforts to harness natural sources of energy,” said Gerbrand Schalkwijk, Vice President, Inmarsat Energy.