It might be unthinkable, yet it did happen. The
University of Lagos community developed a
racing car which beat many competitors at a
global automobile competition

It is a racing car! It is one that may not be too
common in this part of the world but was
conceived, developed and put to test here and
abroad. Known as Autonov II, the racing car is a
brainchild of staff and students of the
University of Lagos (UNILAG) and has competed
for, and gained fame on the global automobile
stage.

Former Minister of Information, who is now
Chairman, Governing Council of UNILAG, Prof.
Jerry Gana was on a visit to the institution
recently. And for the management, there could
not have been a better time to showcase the
school's inherent potentials. In this regard,
Autonov II, UNILAG's latest exploit in science
and technology came handy.

Fuel-efficient and electronically-powered, the
design, fabrication and running of Autonov II
had been funded solely by Shell Petroleum Plc.
The racing car had participated alongside
automobile inventions from other 203 tertiary
institutions across the world at a car racing
competition in the Netherlands, emerging the
third best overall.

Twenty students and lecturers of the school
were said to have done the bulk of the work on
Autonov II. From the Department of Mechanical
Engineering to those of Creative Arts, Physics,
Mass Communication, Electrical/Electronic and
Architecture, the students were assembled and
after a two-month intensive exercise, Autonov II
was developed.

"We started by building the skill-set we needed.
We built the designs, the fraction, the china
system and the body, among others and those
who could integrate all of these together did.
Of course, this has to be carried out by the
students. When we finished, we selected the
team we wanted. What we did was to advertise
and ask that students who possess various skills
we needed should indicate by applying. We
interviewed them and selected a team of 20
students which we later pruned," Prof. Ikem
Owete, leader of the team that manufactured
Autonov II narrated.

The team leaders thereafter asked the selected
students to work differently. The mechanical
group worked on the frame. The material team
worked on the body. The Creative Art student is
a sculptor who constructed the body himself.
Students from electrical engineering worked on
the electrical and electronic control. The team,
Prof Owete recalled, had some challenges with
the control a day before the competition. The
car simply stopped working. But by some
"miraculous intervention," it later began to
work.

"One thing I can tell you was that these
students from Electrical Engineering made their
own PCVs (positive crankcase ventilation, an
automotive-emission control valve that
recirculates gases through the combustion
chambers to permit more complete combustion)
manually without a machine. They got the
chemical, the drawing on the computer, the
components and made the transfer to the PCVs
all on their own. Initially, we wanted to get an
outsider for this but they came to me and said,
'Sir, we can do it' and I said to them, 'Go ahead
and do it. If you don't try, you can't succeed.'
And they did. I am very proud of them. You
really need to see their performance," Owete
said.

UNILAG was not the only Nigerian tertiary
institution that made it to the racing
competition. University of Benin (UNIBEN) also
did. But while the UNIBEN invention could not
make it to the track, UNILAG's Autonov II did.
And out of the 203 schools that competed,
UNILAG was the only one from Africa, aside the
two others that came from Morocco.
"Our utmost aim and objective right from the
first day was how we would pass the rigorous
tests and get Autonov II on the track. We had
our major scare when we got to the
competition and were about to participate when
one of our wheels buckled for the first time.
This happened a day to the time we were to
have our first test. We had not had any test
prior to that time. But our team spirit and
determination prevailed; we took the car to the
welding shop and the wheel and every other
thing were fixed. Thereafter, we went for the
four-stage test and we passed," Victoria
Olakanmi, a 400-level Physics student who
played a role in fixing the car's electrical
lightings and also acted as the reserve driver
said.

Olakanmi said being the only black Africans
among the competitors, they were really not
given any chance by many of their rivals and
spectators, especially since they were observers
at the competition last year. "Many of our rivals
brought big and high-powered equipment to
the competition, but we dazed them when we
emerged third best overall," she said.

For the university's Vice Chancellor, Prof.
Abdulrahman Bello, if anything, that remarkable
feat has placed UNILAG on a global pedestal. "I
feel vindicated and elated. I have always said
the education we give at the UNILAG is second
to none. We have what it takes to always excel
and we also have all the professionals that can
perform feats. That was exactly what our
students and members of academic staff have
shown. We can vouch for our graduates at
every point in time. I am very happy this is
happening when I am here," Prof. Bello said.
Asked to comment on the issue of
sustainability, the Vice Chancellor reminded
everyone that this would not be the first time
the school would be manufacturing a car. A
former lecturer of the school, the late Prof.
Awojobi was reputed to have single-handedly
manufactured a car named Autonov. The VC
said it was in the quest to key into that line of
innovation that made the school call the latest
invention Autonov II. He added that the two
cars will be placed in the university's
prospective museum.

Based on its feat at the Netherlands, the
UNILAG has been invited to participate in a
similar competition coming up in Cape Town,
South Africa in October. The school expects to
have developed another car before then for the
competition.

Prof. Gana expressed delight over the
manufacturing of Autonov II and assured
UNILAG's authorities of government's interest in
developing the innate potential of every student
there and, indeed, that of every Nigerian
student.

Source: http://m.allafrica.com/stories/201408100021.html/

Impressive! well done to the team. you guys are great.

.

Good news coming from our education sector but why does the car name sound russian or is it just me?

wait lemme look for my stamp. oya oga seun front page biko

With Nigeria Racing Eagle getting a fullsupport, I believe Nigeria would leave an indelible mark on the world of motor sport.

Nice

Autonov 1 and now Autonov 11... impressive

Impressive!!but I searched YouTube for the video and nothing was found.

We are getting there,things are getting better...

Not for Sale, beware of my E-Son.

oya UNILAG peeps begin to make mouth

we are getting there. but na make him person c visionary investors na him remain.

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