Columbia Weather Systems

The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Team is racing “EOS II” in the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge with the help of the Magellan MX500™ Weather Station mounted on their lead vehicle. The real-time weather data is used to optimize speed and energy consumption. Good luck to the team – we’re cheering you on from Oregon! Click here if video is not shown . Watch  the full vehicle wrap video from Wrap City Graphics here .

We received a visit from the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project Team on their way home from the American Solar Challenge which finished in Bend, Oregon. Columbia Weather donated a Magellan MX500™ weather station to the project. The weather station is mounted on the lead vehicle (See video above) and is used for strategy data. Met data is correlated with course info and car data to optimize speed and energy consumption. Racing in the Cruiser Class of Multi-Occupancy Vehicles, UMNSVP placed first in the Formula Sun Grand Prix (a track-based qualifier) and second in the ASC. Congratulations and thanks for stopping by!

When the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project was looking for a weather station to help them compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, they contacted Columbia Weather Systems. A Magellan MX500™ Weather Station was mounted on a support vehicle to provide met data to help optimize power for the solar-powered, cruiser-class car dubbed “Eos II.” Besides speed, cruiser-class vehicles focus on practicality and number of people in the car. Gearing up for the race, electrical technical advisor Spencer Berglund related, “We’ve been test driving a lot for the past few days and have been using your weather station for gathering accurate power to drive data for our car. We will also be using it every day on the race.” The U of M Solar Vehicle Project is a student-administered, designed, and built project that teaches members about engineering and management in a complete product development environment. The diverse design and construction challenges help further the school’...