The remarkable growth of CETYS University‘s Mexicali Campus, is what inspired a group of academics from it’s School of Engineering to work on a prototype for an autonomous vehicle that moves using solar energy.

The autonomous vehicle will have an electrical system with renewable energy sources and a series of integrated sensors, which allows it to develop a virtual map of the campus as it progresses and thus know the optimal trajectory.

Together Dr. Luis Carlos Básaca, coordinator of the Hardware and Software Engineering Program; Dr. Juan Terrazas, coordinator of the Center for Innovation and Design (CEID) and Prof. Néstor Orozco, professor at CETYS University, as well as graduate students of the School Engineering, took to the task of investigating the viability of the prototype.

“The person who gets into this two seat car, whose first prototype is expected by next November, only tells it where they want to go and the car would take them safely and automatically to their destination”, said Terrazas.

According to Juan Terrazas, director of CETYS University’s Center for Innovation and Design, the development of an autonomous electric vehicle controlled by sensors will also offer different practical solutions to the national industry. “This prototype of autonomous transport can be migrated to other applications such as warehouse automation, avoiding downtime and adding value to the production process”, stressed Terrazas.

At the moment the project is in its initial stages, it is estimated that it is before the second half of the year when the first phase ends with a functional prototype to give a test service at CETYS.