14 DAY TRIAL // You would think that something as game-changing and advanced as 3D printed, solar-powered cars would spring from somewhere like Toyota, Ford or Renault. But that's not really what happened just now.
Instead, the new NTU Venture 8 and NTU Venture 9 cars were designed by students from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The team was led by Ilmi Bin Abdul Wahab and co-designer Ng Jun Wen, both undergraduates.
The Venture 8 and Venture 9 are called urban electric vehicles and have cabins made of lightweight plastic, as well as silicon solar cells on the exterior. These cells can follow the car's shape instead of looking like little slabs glued on top.
For the NTU Venture 8, honeycomb structure and a unique joint design was employed, to ensure the car doesn't come apart. Also, the car chassis is see-through when hit by the light at the right angle. Presumably, most of the light will be absorbed by the solar cells so that the inside of the car doesn't heat up overmuch during summer.
The NTU Venture 9 is the small one in the pair, with three wheels and a tilting means of making turns, like motorcycles. It uses hand-made silicon solar cells.
