The overall winner was determined in three steps: The compulsory part consisted of autonomous driving tasks on the course and a scientific lecture. After this came the eagerly anticipated “open” challenge. During this free-form demonstration, the eight teams completed a self-assigned task with their miniature Audi Q2, reduced to a scale of 1:8. The focus here, for the first time in the history of the competition, was on artificial intelligence. “I was extremely impressed by the creative solutions from the students in the area of artificial intelligence,” said Peter Mertens, Board of Management Member for Technical Development at AUDI AG, during the award ceremony. “AI is one of the keys on the way to self-driving cars.”
The electric-drive high-tech model cars were equipped with ultrasonic sensors, 3D cameras, rear-view cameras and a powerful NVIDIA graphics card to calculate AI algorithms. The combination of sensor technology and mainframe computer corresponds in principle with that of a production car from Audi. The miniature cars raced with this setup and with software coded by the students themselves – safely and in compliance with the rules.
In the end, the team from AFILSOP of the Ilmenau University of Technology most impressed the jury panel with its outstanding performance. The students confidently performed the driving assignment on the course, presented their development work in a clearly organized manner and demonstrated surprising ingenuity during the open challenge. Audi Board Member for Development Peter Mertens presented the winner’s certificate and the 10,000 euros prize money. Second place, with 5,000 euros in winnings, was taken by the team from TACO. The FAUtonOHM team of the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg / Nuremberg Institute of Technology took third place and received 1,000 euros in prize money.