MOMENTUM - April 2024 - 28

TODAY'S ENGINEERING
FULL SPEED AHEAD FOR
SECOND-GENERATION INDY
AUTONOMOUS RACERS
The new IAC AV-24 racecars lit up in the dark at the Las Vegas Motor
Speedway during the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
AFTER THREE YEARS AND MORE THAN 7,000 MILES (11,265
km) of racing, the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) enters
year four with an updated platform and embedded software
upgrades. Among the highlights for the second-generation
open-wheel racecars are pending patents and first-time
applications. " We've achieved several impressive milestones
since our start in 2020, " IAC President Paul Mitchell said.
The achievement list includes setting a speed record for
passing in autonomous racing (170 mph [273 km/h]), netting
the autonomous vehicle land speed record (192.2 mph [309.3
km/h]), and establishing the fastest lap speed for an
autonomous vehicle (180 mph [289.68 km/h]). " More than
anything, we consider the IAC an applied-research platform for
industry and academia to work together on advancing highspeed
autonomy, " Mitchell said.
Eighteen universities from around the world are
participating in IAC 2024 events. This year's line-up features
nine teams, with each group made up of between one and four
universities. Each team's IAC-supplied racecar-fitted with
sensors, GPS technology and a central computer-operates on
custom-designed instructions. " It's a software challenge for
teams, " Mitchell said. " They're competing on the development
of the AI driver, also referred to as the autonomous software
stack. Each team decides when to steer, when to brake, and
what the throttle position should be. "
Each team uses the same hardware, but there is some
optionality about the wing position and the amount of
downforce, Mitchell said. IAC and partner companies install and
service the cars' chassis and company-specific components.
28 April 2024
In a first for high-speed autonomous racing, the Korea Advanced Institute
of Science and Technology (KAIST) car and the TUM Autonomous
Motorsport car raced side-by-side and wheel-to-wheel, getting as close as
4.9 feet (1500 mm) from each other during the 2024 IAC event at CES.
NEW PLATFORM, NEWER SENSORS
IAC's 2024 platform (IAC AV-24) dramatically differs from the
original 2021 platform (IAC AV-21) via upgraded components.
" The quality of LiDAR and radar technology and onboard
computing has just gotten better because the industry is moving
that fast, " Mitchell said. " So [IAC AV-21] components were
changed out, not because the components weren't working right
or weren't effective, but because something new is available. "
A patent-pending, custom-engineered drive-by-wire system
on the IAC AV-24 replaced off-the-shelf steer-by-wire and
brake-by-wire systems, for example. The new steer-by-wire
MOMENTUM
PHOTOS: IAC
https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/
MOMENTUM - April 2024

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