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The Control & Applications Research Centre (CARC) at BRAC University has expertise in the area of Systems and Control Engineering. CARC has a strong practical focus and many of the projects involve close collaboration with industrial organisations. It emphasises upon the application requirements and exercises established theoretical techniques to provide solutions through technological demonstration. Recently a group of researchers of the centre successfully conducted a research to develop environment friendly and cost-effective solar assisted electric tri-wheelers by integrating innovative torque sensor technology for the first time on such tri-wheelers. They designed and developed the prototype under the supervision of the Director of CARC, Dr AKM Abdul Malek Azad, who is also a professor of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE) of BRAC University. The idea came out of an academic thesis project students EEE (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) at BRAC University were doing in 2013. Thereafter the centre received a seed fund in 2014 from IEEE SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) USA in order to build the prototype rickshaw van for rural communities in Bangladesh. The first prototype came in shape in 2014. Due to its remarkable performance in terms of energy saving, increase in total distance coverage, ease of pedaling effort and greater speed of the vehicle compared to that of conventional battery operated electric rickshaws, IDCOL (Infrastructure Development Company Limited) provided the centre funding to carry out a 12-month pilot project to design and develop 15 electric tri-wheelers with solar PV panel. CARC and IDCOL signed a MoU in August 2015 and the pilot project, supported by the World Bank, began later that same month. The aim was to develop five human haulers, five ambulance vans and five cargo haulers. Ataur Rahman and Jaber Al Rashid worked as research engineers and Sheri Jahan Chowdhury as the project engineer; all of them have completed their Bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from BRAC University. The one year long pilot project, supervised by Dr Azad, ended in July 2016. During the project, the field tests were carried out for four months at Genda, Savar, to analyse and evaluate the performance of these electric vehicles and to collect feedback from rickshaw pullers, passengers, patients, shopkeepers and so on. BRAC Health & Nutrition Programme (HNPP) extended assistance in piloting the project at field level. The findings of the field tests showed that the total distance covered by the help of solar panels and torque sensor pedal technology is around 80-90km, which is almost three times that of the conventional electric rickshaw. The vehicle can be driven at a speed of 35-45km/hr, twice that of the speed of the conventional electric rickshaw. The use of solar panels on the roof helps to charge the battery bank whether the vehicle is moving or not. One of the most attractive feature of the developed vehicle is the application of the innovative torque sensor pedal technology that can reduce human pedaling effort significantly compared to that of a manually driven tri-wheeler. A total of 72% of available battery storage energy can be saved because of overall contribution of solar panels and torque sensor pedal. As a result, battery lifetime is increased. The human hauler can carry around six to eight people at a time whereas the typical electric rickshaw can only carry only two to three. Therefore, the use of this type of technologically advanced electric tri-wheeler can improve the income of pullers and in turn causes socio-economic benefits to both on-grid and off-grid rural communities. The modified solar assisted vehicles are environment friendly, cheaper to produce and maintain, compared to fuel driven four-wheeler vans used for similar purposes. The vans are equipped with rear wheel braking system, reverse gear switch, shock absorbers and many other features. Use of these tri-wheelers can bring positive change in the living standards of rural people of Bangladesh, both on-grid and off-grid. They can be immensely beneficial to rural inhabitants by providing transportation services especially emergency health care services or transportation of things such as agricultural commodities. The future prospect of these vehicles depends on development and implementation of a proper business model by entrepreneurs and business organisations who can initiate a thriving business in the transportation sector of Bangladesh. These all go with the main themes of BRAC University – themes that include innovation, collaboration and social impact. When a project begins as an innovative endeavour, the social impact is achieved through collaborative efforts. BRAC University’s singular focus is to ensure the success of its students, empowering them with knowledge and life skills so that they can take upon themselves the challenging and glorious task of nation-building.