10 Teams to Compete in Four-Year Autonomous Vehicle Design Competition

SAE International and General Motors (GM) announced today the 10 collegiate teams set to compete in the AutoDrive Challenge™ II. The competition continues the strong collaboration between GM and SAE in STEM education and will build on the groundbreaking success of the first iteration AutoDrive Challenge. Participating university teams will develop and demonstrate an autonomous vehicle (AV) that can navigate urban driving courses as described by SAE J3016™ Standard Level 4 automation.

The university teams selected to participate in the AutoDrive Challenge II are:

Kettering University
Michigan Technological University
North Carolina A&T University
The Ohio State University
Penn State University
Texas A&M University
University of Toronto
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Queens University
Virginia Tech
"We're thrilled to be kicking off the second series of the AutoDrive Challenge to give even more students networking and mentoring opportunities and hands-on experience as they prepare to enter the mobility industry," said Chris Ciuca, vice president of programs at SAE International. "Autonomous vehicles offer a bright future and as the technology rapidly evolves, it is imperative that the brightest minds are ready to meet the challenges ahead. We are grateful to have GM return as a supporter to help expand this competition, preparing more future engineers to continue to move mobility forward."

Throughout the four-year competition, participants are required to meet yearly benchmarks for the design and development of their AV systems, while continuing their education through SAE professional development courses. To participate in AutoDrive Challenge II, participating universities committed to relevant curriculum, vehicle testing facilities, undergraduate participation, and faculty and graduate student leadership in their proposals. Challenges will present students with real-world applications of sensing technologies, computing platforms, software design and implementation, and advanced computation methods such as computer vision, image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion and autonomous vehicle controls.

"At General Motors, we envision a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, and we have committed ourselves to leading the way toward this future," said Dan Nicholson, GM vice president, global electrification, controls, software and electronics and executive sponsor of the competition. "The AutoDrive Challenge is a great way to give students the hands-on experience they need to find success. We are very excited to work with these talented students over the course of the competition and know they will make an immediate impact on the automotive industry upon graduation."

GM will provide each participating university team a Chevrolet Bolt EUV vehicle which each team will design and integrate their own AV system into with the goal of having it drive as a fully autonomous vehicle through an urban driving course. Over the next four years, the teams will meet annually for competitive events at The Mcity Test Facility, located on the University of Michigan Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

To learn more information about AutoDrive Challenge II, please visit: http://www.autodrivechallenge.com or https://www.facebook.com/SAEAutoDriveChallenge, or follow along on social media using the hashtag: #AutoDriveChallenge.

About SAE International
SAE International is a global association committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. More at http://www.sae.org.