Our name comes from the e-Human Powered Vehicle Competition (HPVC), hosted by the national organization American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) which we are participating in. We want to establish this new UCI senior design project as a recurring project that anyone can join. In addition, we are partnered with ASME at UCI to help get lower-classmen involved in the process so they can gain some hands-on experience necessary for succeeding in their engineering careers.
ASME hosts an endurance race that runs for 2.5 hours with many obstacles such as tight turns, uneven terrain, and inclines. HPVC at UCI will design and manufacture a recumbent, tadpole bike with a sufficient rollover protection system to keep the driver safe in case of an accident during the endurance race. The bike consists of 5 major systems: braking system, drive system, steering system, rollover protection system, and electrical system. The team has been split into three subteams: statics which consists of the bike frame, rollover protection system and seat; dynamics which consists of steering, braking, and driving; electrical which consists of the battery, electrical box and electric motor. Overall, the team aims to produce a bike that is ergonomic, safe, and easy to handle.