Team Solarium India – From National Champions to Global Contenders

Team Solarium India was founded in 2016 at Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), Pune, with a singular mission: to pioneer sustainable mobility through student-led innovation. Over the last decade, we have evolved from a group of enthusiasts into a multi-disciplinary engineering powerhouse with over 15 national awards. Our most recent milestone was the Electric Solar Vehicle Championship (ESVC) 2025, where our vehicle, Invictus 6.0, won the Overall Champions Award. This victory proved our ability to dominate the Indian circuit, but it also signaled that we were ready for a greater challenge. We are now in the midst of our most ambitious project yet: Invictus 7.0, a solar-electric vehicle designed specifically for the Sasol Solar Challenge 2026 in South Africa.

You can catch a glimpse of our 2025 winning journey here.

The Technical Core: DAQ & Telemetry Systems

In a 2,500km rally across the South African Karoo, data is our most valuable resource. We are designing custom electronics to turn our vehicle into a high-speed mobile laboratory:

Custom Data Acquisition (DAQ) System: Our STM32-based DAQ board is the heart of the vehicle’s sensing suite. It captures high-frequency data from across the car—monitoring battery cell temperatures, motor current draw, and suspension travel. In the extreme heat and vibration of South Africa, the signal integrity and thermal stability of this PCB are non-negotiable.

High-Range Telemetry System: To win, we must be proactive, not reactive. Our custom Telemetry board transmits real-time vehicle diagnostics via LoRa and GSM modules to our support chase vehicle. This data feeds directly into our proprietary Python-based race strategy model, allowing us to optimize our velocity and energy consumption every second of the race.

Why PCBWay is Our Essential Partner

Student-built electronics often fail due to the rigors of the road. To transition from a national champion to a global contender, we need industrial-grade reliability.

Precision Fabrication: Our DAQ systems require tight tolerances for analog-to-digital conversions and high-speed data lines. We trust PCBWay’s multi-layer fabrication to maintain the signal integrity required for our strategy algorithms to function.

Durability for Endurance: The South African terrain is relentless. We need PCBs that can withstand constant mechanical vibration and thermal cycling. PCBWay’s high-quality solder mask and copper plating ensure our "eyes and ears" don't go dark in the middle of the desert.

We aren't just building a car; we are building a data-driven ecosystem for a sustainable future. With PCBWay’s world-class fabrication and Team Solarium’s engineering spirit, we will bring Invictus 7.0 across the finish line in Cape Town.