Autonomous Driving at Formula Student Germany 2017

FSG once again leads the world of Formula Student with a new competition class, Formula Student Driverless (FSD)

2017 will be driverless. The 12th Formula Student Germany (FSG) is waiting with the next big thing for the international teams of students. For the first time in the history of the engineering design competition, there will be a driverless competition class; Formula Student Driverless (FSD).

The new, future-oriented competition fronts students with a completely new challenge. They are to develop a race car that can run without a driver in autonomous mode, or with a driver in a manual mode. The vehicles must meet the technical requirements of the two existing classes of the competition, Formula Student Combustion (engine) or Formula Student Electric (electric motor).

Which driverless car will win the new competition will not only be decided on basis of pure autonomy. As usual with FSG, the overall performance of the students in all aspects is critical to winning. As in the existing competition classes, the combines static and dynamic events are what counts.

“Formula Student Driverless is a competition which has never existed before. Like the electric motor, we are once again the international pioneer for this new competition class. We are very excited to see what the teams will develop“ says Tim Hannig (Chairman of FSG) excitedly. 

The cars must be built with the usual high technical requirements of FSG. “As with the other two classes of the competition, safety is paramount and the cars will be tested to the same standards. To minimise any risks, the autonomous race cars will compete in a secured, person-free test area, said Hannig.

At this year’s FSG, the teams were invited on a voluntary basis to submit a concept for how FSD could look. 31 teams responded, concentrating on the three main subjects “Safety and Security, “Environment and Track Appearance“ and the “Competition“. 

With the introduction of FSD, we want to attract students from other fields who in the past have been foreign to FSG. These include areas such as informatics and robotics. We also want to give the teams new challenges for the future. “The introduction of FSD is the consequent further development of the competition and is ideal in order to prepare students for the continuously changing requirements of working life. Networking, software and teamwork are also fundamental ““said Hannig.

Link to the first draft of the FSD rules https://www.formulastudent.de/fsd/documents/ 

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