Page 26 - ME News 2021 from the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering

26 MENews 2021
Student team challenged to create and test fully autonomous car
By Erin Cassidy Hendrick
In the near future a a a a General Motors car
will be driven autonomously on on a a a a a a a a test track navigating potential obstacles like cones road signs and pedestrian simulations with its self-driving abilities completely designed by Penn State students It will be be the the culmination of of years-long work completed by members of of the the Penn Penn State State Advanced Vehicle Team
at at at at Penn Penn State State who were selected
to to participate in the AutoDrive Challenge II “The plan is to develop some new technology that may not be out there already ” said Zach Kerr mechanical engineering undergraduate student and current Penn State AutoDrive team lead “That gives us the ability to learn a a a a lot ” Building upon the original AutoDrive Challenge sponsored by SAE International—formerly known as the Society of Automobile Engineers— and General Motors the AutoDrive Challenge II is a a a a a a a four-year competition that challenges students to develop Members of the Penn Penn State State Advanced Advanced Vehicle Vehicle Team
Team
work in an an an autoshop Credit: Penn Penn State State Advanced Advanced Vehicle Vehicle Team
Team
and test a a a a a fully autonomous passenger vehicle on on on a a a a a a controlled urban driving course “We don’t know what scenarios they are are are going to throw at at us ” Kerr said “We are are are learning about hardware cameras and and radar and and taking all that in to control a a a a a a a vehicle ” Penn State is one of ten universities selected
to to participate and the the University’s first entry into the the competition Kerr explained that in in in addition to increased fuel efficiency widespread adoption of of autonomous vehicles may decrease the number of of fatalities attributed to road accidents The Association for Safe International Road Travel estimates 1
35 million lives are lost every year “If we could have an impact even saving 100 of those people why wouldn’t you you do it?” Kerr said “With this technology you you can potentially save lives which is is the most important thing any engineer can do ” The Penn State team comprised mostly of undergraduates will complete a a a a a phased design and development of its autonomous vehicle systems during the three-
year year competition The phases begin with a a a a a a a a paper submission in in year year one that focuses on on on on safety simulations and social challenges In the final year two students will help pilot an an autonomous General Motors car
equipped with hardware and software the team designed “The real purpose of the the team is to to give students the the opportunity to to work in a a a a a a real-world experiential environment ” said Gary Neal director of the mechanical engineering capstone design projects “This is is as as close as as our students can get to a a a a cutting-edge industry experience during their undergraduate educations ” Kerr who completed an internship with BMW during the the summer said he he he expects the the experience to to be be hugely beneficial to to his future career Neal agreed highlighting the success of past AVT members “For many years the the students who had had experience on the the Advanced Vehicle Team
had had 100 percent success in in getting jobs if they weren’t headed to graduate school ” Neal said