Innovation of a 'Hybrid Car'
"Hybrid Car", the term may sound unusual to many, on the whole, it is a multi fuelled vehicle that can switch between a fossil fuel and an alternative fuel source.
This is also an exciting piece of news for the people who are thinking about a fuel economic car! Last year, on December 18, Bangladesh got country's first ever prototype of hybrid car invented by 13 brilliant students of Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) at 'Eco Run Bangladesh 2015' (A Fuel Efficient Vehicle Design Competition) arranged by 'JICA Bangladesh' (Japan International Cooperation Agency. The project was named after 'MOTOMIST'.
It was an effort of 'Team MOTOMIST'; a group of some youthful and passionate students of Mechanical Engineering Department, MIST lead by Chowdhury Raihan Uddin, a fresh graduate. "Actually, the history of 'MOTOMIST' did not start with this team", says Raihan. "It was an official project group from Mechanical Engineering Department of MIST, for the competition "Eco Run Bangladesh 2013" organized jointly by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)".
During that time Raihan was a first semester student who joined the senior brothers of MIST and made the car within the budget. Unfortunately, due to an accident, they cannot make the test run on the competition. But he didn't give up his hope!
Afterwards, under the guidance of the faculty members and with the help of the students from other batches, he made his further research on it to find out the technical problems. That time, the design was modified. Instead of a metal body; plastic body was made for cost reduction and finally it was ready for 'Eco Run Bangladesh 2015' through many technical and financial obstacles.
"Our respected Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engg Brig. Gen Lutfor sir patronized MOTOMIST with the fund", says 21-year old Mushfiqur Rahman Siddiqui, a member of Team MOTOMIST.
For MOTOMIST, a Walton 100 cc engine was provided by the Mechanical Engineering Department of MIST. While they were working on their vehicle, they came across the idea of hybridising which provides the car both the engine drive and motor drive. They gathered the other materials from Dholaikhal, Bangshal, Kamalapur and many other areas of the city.
On the day of the competition, they stood 2nd runner up in the category of fuel economy. But in the category of 'Best Technical Innovation', they got the championship as e they made it cost effective with multi fuel system like gas, petrol and battery.
Though the competition is over, the journey of MOTOMIST is not. "In near future we want to make a unique hybrid, high-efficiency car that uses hydraulic fuel to store and provide energy to power the car", says, Iffat Ara Bari, the youngest member of Team MOTOMIST. "This hydraulic power system could have cost and power advantages over electric hybrid systems", she adds.
Hybrid car is a new concept which is gaining its popularity day by day. Around the world, many groups are researching on it. Though Bangladesh has limited resources, Team MOTOMIST is working on developing it in such a way that it will fulfil the demands of next generation of Bangladesh.
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