Wooden electric car made in Liepāja, Latvia

A unique wooden electric car prototype has been developed in the smart Technology study program at Liepāja University.

The car, named "Woodpecker", can be used in agriculture, entertainment, warehouses and other environments.

"The developed vehicle is of relatively high load capacity, up to a tonne. Fully electrically controlled, also remotely controlled. This vehicle is actually a platform to which different bodyworks can be applied," said Uldis Žaimis, director of the LiepU Institute for Science and Innovative Technologies.

The wooden vehicle is equipped with obstacle detectors, multiple elements of artificial intelligence and has remote data transmission.

The NGO Rīga High Tech ordered the "Woodpecker", which will further provide courses in English on the assembly of such a vehicle.

The car was assembled in about a month by Jānis Mackus, a student of the University Information Technology Program.

"Doing this for the first time, it's a little more complicated, because there's no clarity exactly where, what goes, and you need to explore this issue. It would be very easy to do this for the second time," said Jānis Mackus.

The designed car will serve as a prototype for further projects, but it already sees extensive potential.

"Possible applications are very different. In agriculture, to drive feed around, warehouses for the transport of boxes within the territory of a warehouse," Uldis Žaimis explained.

“It is very good that such projects are used in closed spaces, for private purposes. In such a case, the vehicle does not require registration. If it participated in road traffic, it needs registration, and it already has other conditions," said Deputy Head of CSDD Communications Department Ieva Bērziņa.

The University of Liepāja plans to develop a slightly smaller electrical vehicle in the near future, with details, drawings and instructions on how to build them and distribute the material to Liepāja schools. Then, students could put these together, for example, in-home economics classes.

Source: eng.lsm.lv