CleanCar, a project by Team-CERC (Cambourne Electronics and Robotics Club), the popular kids’ STEM club in Cambourne, has been selected as one of the judges’ favourites in the Coolest Projects competition.
The Coolest Projects competition invites children to submit novel projects and lists them in their online database. Over 4110 STEM projects were submitted to the online service in 2023, and they involved judges from various industries to select the top 24 from 6 categories.
CleanCar is an app to improve fuel efficiency and predict car service needs using a Raspberry Pi or a mobile phone. Every car has an OBD port that can access various sensors connected to internal sub-systems.
Through the OBD port, the app indicates real-time fuel consumption, detects car idling, and recommends car service if needed. While the nifty feature that gives small beeps while idling is really cool, the app shows red-amber-green light signals for car service needs.
One in eleven children in the UK have asthma and air pollution is the biggest culprit. The app tries to tackle air pollution by reducing car emissions while also reducing the costs for the drivers by improving fuel efficiency. The team will approach the Department of Transport (DfT) for nationwide adoption, which will reduce fuel imports, especially in the times of high fuel prices.
CERC promotes the importance of STEM projects, especially the ones that solve real-world problems such as climate change or air pollution.
Further details are available from the Coolest Projects website: https://online.coolestprojects.org/projects/7008
