Brasília – Those visiting the National Science and Technology Week will see a car made out of bamboo. Developed by civil, electrical and mechanical engineering students from the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of Rio de Janeiro, the prototype was ready after one year working.
The entire structure of the vehicle is made out of bamboo, including the seats and the support for the steering wheel. The tyres and steering wheels are made out of the same material as that used in conventional vehicles. The small car, similar to a jeep, is powered with four batteries and has the capacity to carry two to three people. It has no roof or speedometer and may reach 40 kilometres per hour.
"It is a pilot project. The plan was to show students that engineering is not limited to steel and concrete and to provide a notion of sustainability," said the doctor in structures at the PUC and one of the orientators of the project, André Guedes Pinto.
The cost of the bamboo car was approximately 6,000 Brazilian reals (US$ 3,600). The vehicle is exhibited at the stand of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) at the fair, which ends on Sunday (24). The theme of this year’s edition is Science for Sustainable Development.
Another attraction is the sensorial tunnel, established by students in the physiotherapy course at the University of Brasília (UnB). In the tunnel, blindfolded visitors must move along a small corridor and discover – through touch, smell and hearing – what is in cardboard boxes, among the products are dried leaves, jam, hay and rice. The aim of the activity is to show how a blind person guides himself using other senses, according to graduate and project participant Paula Marques.
“It was easy because they helped me move without seeing. I think it is very hard for a blind person to move around," said student Marcos Felipe, aged 11, who tested out the sensorial tunnel. The week includes over 10,000 activities programmed up to next Sunday in 300 cities in the country, in the areas of science, technology and innovation.
*Translated by Mark Ament