Kick-Off Meeting at Kempten University of Applied Sciences
With the support of BAYHOST, the kick-off meeting for the second edition of a Hungarian-Bavarian student project on autonomous driving took place at the Institute for Driver Assistance and Connected Mobility (IFM) at Kempten University of Applied Sciences in Memmingen from 19 to 21 April 2024 Bavarian-Hungarian student project on self-driving vehicles starts for the second time. The initial pilot project in 2023 was very well received by students and lecturers. In addition to the new partner, the Kempten University of Applied Sciences, three other higher education institutions are involved: Széchenyi István University in Györ (Hungary), Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences and Landshut University of Applied Sciences.
During the kick-off meeting, 11 students prepared themselves to solve tasks in the field of autonomous driving. The students were introduced to the platform for the virtual environment in which they will be working during the project. In two interactive workshops, the IFM Safety Team led by Prof. Dr. Rolf Jung instructed the students on the topics of “Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF)” and “Simulationbased testing of foreseeable misuse”. The students dealt with critical situations that can arise when people misuse the systems for assisted and automated driving or when unexpected external circumstances occur (construction work on the road, detour, missing markings, etc.).
The workshops ended with a practical exercise with F1tenth model vehicles prepared by the Research Center of Vehicle Industry at Széchenyi István University in Györ.
Further practical insights were provided during a tour of the Fakt Motion test site located directly next to the IFM and a visit to Continental.
At the end of the kick-off meeting, two student teams were formed. Each team consists of students from Hungary and Bavaria. These teams will jointly work on tasks in the field of autonomous driving at two further project meetings in Györ and in Munich and Landshut. Between the face-to-face meetings, the collaboration will continue virtually until the teams compete against each other in the final in Munich.
Some of the students have already gained in-depth practical experience as members of Formula Student teams or the SZEnergy team at Széchenyi István University in Györ which develops energyefficient vehicles for urban areas.
The project does not only promote the ex-change between the students, but also the cooperation between the participating higher education institutions at lecturer level, who jointly create the tasks and provide the students with assistance in solving them.
Workshop, at the Széchenyi-István University in Györ
From 6th to 9th June 2024, the second part of the Bavarian-Hungarian interdisciplinary student project on autonomous driving took place at Széchenyi István University in Györ (Hungary). 5 students and research assistants from the Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences and the OTH Regensburg took part. After an introduction to ROS (Robot Operating System) 2, two mixed student teams programmed a simulation based on F1tenth model vehicles. In doing so, they were supported by scientists from the Research Center of Vehicle Industry at Széchenyi István University in Györ. The workshop deliberately focused on the independent practical work of the student teams, which was concluded with a joint test session.
Florence Wagner from the Safety Team of the Institute for Driving Assistance and Connected Mobility (IFM) at Kempten University of Applied Sciences explained the legal basis for autonomous vehicles, which is of utmost importance for their further development.
The final meeting of the three-part project will take place in Munich and Landshut in October. To conclude the project, a competition between the two student teams is planned.
Some of the students involved have already gained in-depth practical experience as members of Formula Student teams or the SZEnergy team at Széchenyi István University in Györ, which develops energy-efficient vehicles for urban areas.
The project not only promotes exchange between the students, but also fosters cooperation between the participating universities at the level of the teaching staff, who jointly design the tasks and help the students to solve them.
The VDI Autonomous Driving Challenge
The final meeting of this year's Hungarian-Bavarian student project on autonomous driving took place from November 14 to 16 at the Universities of Applied Sciences of Munich and Landshut. At Munich University of Applied Sciences, participants from István Széchenyi University in Győr and the universities of Applied Sciences of Kempten, Landshut, and Munich had the opportunity to experience the VDI (Association of German Engineers) Autonomous Driving Challenge, which was held for the fourth time. On a race track set up specifically for the competition, seven student teams from various German universities competed against each other in several autonomous driving disciplines, such as parking, overtaking, acceleration, and obstacle detection.
The students of the Hungarian-Bavarian project coordinated by BAYHOST did not compete in the competition, but gained insight into the preparation for such a competition and the challenges involved. They were also able to test their model vehicles on the race track. Motivated by this experience, they are aiming to participate in a real competition next year.
The student teams first presented the hardware and software of the model vehicles they used and how they had prepared for the Autonomous Driving Challenge. During the practical application on the road, there were repeated surprises, which only added to the fun of participating. The winner was the team from Munich University of Applied Sciences, which scored the highest number of points in its home game.
On November 16, 11 scientists and students from István Széchenyi University in Győr and Kempten University of Applied Sciences visited the Formula Student Team at Landshut University of Applied Sciences, which has already successfully participated in numerous international competitions and is currently preparing for its first competitions in the “Driverless” category. For the students from Győr, some of whom have also designed and programmed vehicles and used them in various projects, e.g., in France and on the Zalazone test track near Győr, the exchange with their fellow students from Landshut was particularly interesting. Afterwards, the project participants visited various faculties and laboratories at Landshut University of Applied Sciences.
Due to the mutually beneficial exchange, the project is to be continued and further developed in 2025.
