SAE International and GM Declare a Year 4 Winner of the AutoDrive Challenge™

Posted: Friday, July 9, 2021

The University of Toronto was announced as the overall year four winner of the AutoDrive Challenge™, during a recent virtual ceremony. With a combined score of 370.38, the University of Toronto came out on top after remaining steadfast in their goal of developing an SAE J3016™ Standard Level 4 autonomous vehicle (AV).

Zac Pace, the program manager for the AutoDrive Challenge, said: “I commend each student for their engagement and participation in what has been an exceedingly challenging year. The work that these students have accomplished stands at the forefront of this technology space and all have performed extremely well, particularly as we’ve navigated the many challenges in 2020 and 2021.”

Over the past four years, eight collegiate teams have been competing to develop and demonstrate a fully autonomous passenger vehicle. From June 5-14, these teams showcased their vehicles by running through a mock city and proving ground built for the testing of these wirelessly connected and autonomous vehicles.

Added Kristy Rasbach, chief engineer, autonomous vehicles at GM: “Though this experience was primarily virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was a very rewarding learning opportunity for all involved. The level of ingenuity, creativity, flexibility, and innovation that was displayed by university teams this year was impressive. These are all traits that will serve students well as they transition into their post-collegiate careers.”

To watch the recorded runs from the competition or learn more about the AutoDrive Challenge, please visit: https://sae.to/3ze67GG.

What’s Next?

AutoDrive Challenge™ II is currently underway. The competition continues the strong collaboration between GM and SAE in STEM education and will build on the groundbreaking success of the first iteration of the AutoDrive Challenge. Participating university teams will develop and demonstrate an AV that can navigate urban driving courses as described by SAE J3016 Standard Level 4 automation.

For many participants, professional career opportunities with GM are available for those graduating between April 2021 to June 2022 in either software or hardware engineering positions, rotational positions, as well as internships for next year. Many graduates of the program will next be found working in the field, developing the future of autonomous vehicles.