AID Rapid Development Award 2019

Here at Autonomous Intelligent Driving (AID), we have set out to build a self-driving system for the Volkswagen Group and beyond. In working towards this goal, we wish to change the lives of millions of people over the coming years. AID is a major player in a very competitive field, with many firms racing to develop a self-driving system for the urban environment that is both functional and safe. In our field, the continuous application of new technologies brings uncertain results and an unrelenting need to experiment. Yet just as in motorsports, we cannot afford to lose time chasing ideas which might later prove unsuccessful. Thus, acquiring fast feedback on the performance of technical solutions is crucial in the development of self-driving systems.

Over the past few years, we have witnessed Formula Student Driverless teams shift their focus from solving the integration of an initial stack into a prototype car to the pursuit of higher speeds and lower lap times. Therefore, our special award will focus on the validation strategies you employ during the concept and development phase of your system. How can you ensure your system is robust enough to handle the range of situations, testing and events present? What enables you to settle and focus on technical solutions early in the development process? How do you ensure your system meets your performance needs for the event?

As it takes time to build your ability to quickly iterate and get early feedback, we also invite you to go into the concrete validation strategies you are preparing and developing for the coming years.

Please focus on:

• Priorities and goals in your validation approach.
• Methods for robustness and performance predictions on component and system level.
• Strategies for measuring component and system performance and deducing further steps for improvement.
• Steps taken into account for the difference between your test and the event environment.

As with all judging at Formula Student Germany, we expect you to provide reasoning as to why your approach was sensible given your circumstances, answer detailed technical questions and provide results of your validation efforts.

How to apply?
As having a working system is the first necessary step towards iteratively improving performance, the “AID Rapid Development Award” is open to all Formula Student Driverless teams, irrespective of their participation in Formula Student Germany 2019, that can provide a Vehicle Status Video (VSV) showing their system operating in accordance with section A 5.6 of the FS 2019 rules. Your team can apply for the award by submitting the VSV and a summary of your Validation strategies (max. 2 pages). The document should be in PDF format and should not exceed 10MB. Please upload your team’s abstract and VSV via the FSG website (=> MyTeam => Competitions => Deadlines) by July 22nd, 2019 23:59 CEST latest. We will announce the nominated teams by July 25th, 2019.

All nominated teams will present their contributions in the Special Award Judging pit located in the FSG Forum. Each team has a 30-minute time slot for judging. Teams are advised to prepare suitable documentation and presentation media.

What’s in it for you?
6 members of the winning team are invited to attend the iROS conference in November 2019 in Macau, China (https://www.iros2019.org). AID will provide travel, accommodation and entrance fee to the event. You will see the current trends and be able to talk with experts in the robotics community from all around the world.

 

 

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