Unimore Racing team finished second in the world Indy Autonomous Challenge competition
The Unimore Racing Team, coordinated by Professor Marko Bertogna of the Department of Physical, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, took part in the seventh edition of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), the competition between fully autonomous-driving cars built by universities around the world, which was held last week at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The team from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia managed to achieve a significant second place out of nine participating teams, representing 13 universities from three continents.
The prize money was $1 million, contested by the ten teams allowed to compete, including Berkeley, CalTech, Purdue, TUM Monaco, KAIST Korea, Indiana, Auburn, Virginia, and the Unimore Racing team, with the second-place finisher being awarded €150,000.
In a tightly contested race finale, PoliMOVE-MSU (Milan Polytechnic) and Unimore Racing (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) raced head-to-head for 30 laps, making a total of 19 overtakes at ever-increasing speeds. In the final PoliMOVE-MSU took the victory with a final overtake at 180 mph.
During the race, the two competitors demonstrated a revolutionary feat in terms of vehicle control, stability and safety by executing a controlled stop at 145 mph. Entering the first bend, the Unimore racing car lost GPS connectivity and was able to make a safe stop through the bend by switching to LiDAR-based localisation. These manoeuvres underline the incredible safety capabilities of modern autonomous systems.
“We managed to make it all the way to the head-to-head final against the Milan Polytechnic, in an all-Italian final that was fought to the last overtaking at over 280 km/h. Besides the enormous satisfaction, we also take home a nice prize,” commented Professor Bertogna.
The Unimore Racing team consists of some 20 PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, Unimore students and employees of the Hipert spinoff.
Noteworthy achievements, in addition to the final podium, include the more than 3,000 km travelled in autonomous mode without incident, spin or loss of control, or the 1,000 laps completed between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Kentucky Speedway.
“All this is thanks to the precise detection and tracking of opponents thanks to sensors, cameras and radar all integrated in a single computing unit, but also to the detection and rapid response to hardware problems, including steering failures, GPS leaks, fuel leaks and battery undervoltage,” Professor Bertogna continues: “We hope this will inspire more confidence in Italy's incredible technology and academic ecosystem. With the right resources, these seeds can generate something truly revolutionary”.
Categorie: Notizie_eng
Articolo pubblicato da: Ufficio Stampa Unimore - ufficiostampa@unimore.it