The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Drive at the push of a button

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 05, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Drive at the push of a button

Akhila Seetharaman

Orthopaedically-disabled people can drive the Futurautech effortlessly, as the car does not have any foot pedals or gears. Students build hybrid drive-by-wire vehicle that runs on batteries Students build drive-by-wire vehicle that runs on batteries

CHENNAI: Driving at the press of a button, without gears, accelerator, clutch, brakes or a steering wheel may be the stuff of virtual reality. But the experience of riding in the rickety Futurautech is only too real.

At first glance, the button-operated vehicle, devised by four final year students of Velammal Engineering College looks more like an old gold Fiat, complete with doors that do not shut properly than a futuristic machine.

But the multi-coloured wiring and the six batteries in the rear give it away.

The car was conceived by S. Sridhar and his companions, A.N. Rakesh Raj, K. Sathish Kanna and M. Saravanan,

The Futurautech is a hybrid vehicle that runs primarily on batteries recharged by a motor driven by a petrol engine.

"In a basic engine, the engine drives the motor, which supplies the energy," says Sridhar, "But here, the battery powers an electrical motor, which drives the wheel."

The Futurautech, built at a cost of Rs. 2.2 lakhs, can be recharged while the car is running, via a generator driven by the car's petrol engine.

The students and faculty claim that the car is the first hybrid car of its kind in the country to be entirely operated by an electronic control module. Instead of regular foot pedals and steering, the car has a electronic panel with four buttons to move left, right, forward or backward. "We've used drive-by-wire technology so everything is electrically controlled. A person doesn't need to use his legs to drive," says Sridhar.

The technology allows orthopaedically challenged persons to drive as well.

Remote control

The car can also be remote controlled, allowing drivers to park into narrow spaces more easily. At present, the car can travel a distance of 30 km at a speed of 30 km an hour with fully charged batteries.

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