Solar Boat Challenge Project

Group Project files where we designed and raced a solar powered 3D printed boat with a reverse/return feature.

My group worked really well in the designing, construction and racing of our solar boat. Having worked with the same members before, we all had a good idea of our strengths and weaknesses.

This project has shown me that design can be a very complicated process. The theory of our project was conceptually simple; but once our group completed our literature review, it was clear that there was a plethora of options to weigh up and choose from with such an unconstrained problem. Previous projects had well defined limits with respect to the types of materials you could use, size and production times. Early on, our group realised that although the project was going to be judged as a race, the most important part of the design was to have a reliable direction changing mechanism. Ergo, there was absolutely no point in being the fastest if you can’t reach the finish line. I also