The Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) in Japan conducted a competition titled “EV Super Micro Mobility Design Contest” to encourage the promotion of Super Micro Mobility vehicles (SMM), as well as to offer the opportunity to experience the excitement of manufacturing to students who will lead the next generation. The contest was to design an electric SMM having a rated power output of 8kW within certain boundary conditions. The design approach was one of the key features in this contest. Team MORA from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, introduced a concept based on a well-known insect “Ladybird”. The Ladybird has always captured the imagination of children worldwide. Its cute round shape and striking colours are identifiable anywhere, and considered as a symbol of good luck in many cultures.
There were 41 teams from seven different countries including Japan, UK, USA and France who participated in this contest. In the first round, vehicle concept, practicality and a 2D sketch of the vehicle were mainly evaluated. 27 teams were selected for the final round. In the final round, 3D realization of the designs including “Natural Sketching” using CATIA software were evaluated. At the end of the final round five teams were selected as award winning teams including Team MORA and four Japanese teams. Each team received an Excellency prize for each section in which they performed well. Team MORA received “CATIA Award for Excellence” for creativity in natural sketching using CATIAsoftware. Other award winning teams were KID (Kyushu University), PDL (Chiba University), Voltage (Tokyo Metropolitan University) and TgMg (Tennoji Gakkan high school).
The awards ceremony was held at the conference room of the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show “SMART MOBILITY CITY” in Big Sight, Tokyo. Team MORA received a certificate of excellence including a special prize of Computer Aided Engineering Design software (CATIA V6 2014 release) which is worth more than Rs 3.5 million. After receiving the price, Team MORA made a presentation to introduce the concept to the audience. They also had the opportunity to view the 43rd TOKYO MOTOR SHOW which is one of the largest motor shows all around the world.
Members of Team MORA were Lihil Subasinghe (09 Batch), Rashiga Walallawita (09 Batch), Vimukthi Randeny (10 Batch) and Damith Madusanka (10 Batch). They were supervised by Dr Ruwan Gopura, Senior Lecturer and Mr Sasiranga.