RMIT STEM Students Spark Excitement at 2024 Formula 1 Grand Prix
Lines were out the door at the RMIT marquees set up in the Education Precinct at Albert Park late last month.
Activations such as MOTUM’s Race Simulator drew a crowd of eager Grand Prix attendees as they watched their friends place a VR headset on and zoom around a virtual racetrack.
In the large RMIT tent, visitors were treated to multiple interactive activations.
RMIT’s own NOVA Simulator sat in the corner of the tent, where people could don a VR headset and control a helicopter as it flew over a simulated environment.
As the NOVA Simulator was for attendees 18 years and over, there were also stationary VR headsets for the younger visitors to also experience controlling helicopters over a simulated Melbourne city skyline.
RMIT Centre for Digital Innovation also had a holographic display with three-dimensional images of RMIT Motorsport race cars that attendees could see without having to wear a headset.
The RMIT Motorsport team had their 2023 Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) cars, the R23, on display for people to look at, interact with and ask questions about.
Jonas Rutherford and Han Ooi were two student ambassadors representing the Motorsport team.
“We built this car to race in the FSAE 2023, which is an international competition where students can race their cars in a safe environment,” Han explained.
“As there is an actual living, breathing human in the car, the standard for safety and quality is much higher,
“This higher burden is a distinguishing point for our team, because if we make a mistake, someone might get electrocuted,” he said.
Jonas is the team principal for RMIT Motorsport, and believes the team provides a great opportunity for students to learn new skills.
“Through the FSAE competition, we get to come together and work on a real-life project,” he said.
“We can compare our engineering skills and dynamic performance in driving cars against other university students,
“This allows us to apply skills we’re learning in class, and we get to see real-life results in the competition,” he said.