​The ˿����Ƶ AutoDrive team, Bulldog Bolt, wrapped up its second year of competition this month, finishing third in Mobility Innovation. ​

The team and its Chevy Bolt EV competed June 4-10 at MCity in Ann Arbor. The four-year competition, sponsored by SAE International and General Motors, tasks 10 teams with developing and demonstrating a completely autonomous-driving passenger vehicle. Each year, the competition builds on the next by adding more challenges.

The Mobility Innovation Award is based on two items the team submitted. The first is a report on the 0-0-0 Challenge, in which students needed to build on last year’s work by validating the power consumption of the vehicle’s sensors. 

“This is important because the power consumption of sensors impacts the vehicle range, which is a major concern to consumers,” said Dr. Diane Peters, the team’s faculty advisor. 

The Mobility Innovation Award also is based on a video the team produced that focused on finding issues with an autonomous vehicle future and how to sell solutions to lobbyists.

Although it’s the second year of the competition, it’s the first year teams worked with an actual car. During the challenge's first year, the team outfitted a large metal cart with sensors to collect data. 

“Transitioning from the cart to the car presented some challenges,” Peters said. “The perception algorithms developed on the cart could be carried over, but interfacing with the car was a significant challenge as it involved propulsion and steering, which weren’t a factor in the stationary cart. And, of course, safety was critical since we needed to ensure students were always working in a safe environment where the car wouldn’t do anything unexpected.”

Team Captain Kevin Patterson (’24, EE) agreed transitioning from the cart to the car was challenging but is pleased with the team’s results.

“Even though the Kettering AutoDrive team had a tough year, it was impressive how the team performed and how much it faced,” he said. “The biggest takeaway of the year is to keep pushing forward.”

Participating in AutoDrive helps students gain experience and network with others in various industries.

“There is plenty of work to be done, whether it’s designing different mounts for cameras and sensors, real-time project management skills for business majors, and electrical engineering to help design and develop the harness and various electrical components,” Patterson said. 

During the competition, he also met with representatives from sponsoring companies.

“I spoke with multiple companies that are very interested in not only Kettering students but AutoDrive Kettering students with the experience to do what their companies do,” Patterson said. 

The rules for the Year 3 challenge will be released in late summer or early fall. Until then, Peters said students are making a list of things it needs to improve on from this year so they’ll be prepared and ready to get to work.

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The ˿����Ƶ AutoDrive team, Bulldog Bolt, wrapped up its second year of competition in June of 2023, finishing third in Mobility Innovation. 

The team and its Chevy Bolt EV competed June 4-10 at MCity in Ann Arbor. The four-year competition, sponsored by SAE International and General Motors, tasks 10 teams with developing and demonstrating a completely autonomous-driving passenger vehicle. Each year, the competition builds on the next by adding more challenges.

The Mobility Innovation Award is based on two items the team submitted. The first is a report on the 0-0-0 Challenge, in which students needed to build on last year’s work by validating the power consumption of the vehicle’s sensors. 

“This is important because the power consumption of sensors impacts the vehicle range, which is a major concern to consumers,” said Dr. Diane Peters, the team’s faculty advisor. 

The Mobility Innovation Award also is based on a video the team produced that focused on finding issues with an autonomous vehicle future and how to sell solutions to lobbyists.

Although it’s the second year of the competition, it’s the first year teams worked with an actual car. During the challenge's first year, the team outfitted a large metal cart with sensors to collect data. 

“Transitioning from the cart to the car presented some challenges,” Peters said. “The perception algorithms developed on the cart could be carried over, but interfacing with the car was a significant challenge as it involved propulsion and steering, which weren’t a factor in the stationary cart. And, of course, safety was critical since we needed to ensure students were always working in a safe environment where the car wouldn’t do anything unexpected.”

Team Captain Kevin Patterson (’24, EE) agreed transitioning from the cart to the car was challenging but is pleased with the team’s results.

“Even though the Kettering AutoDrive team had a tough year, it was impressive how the team performed and how much it faced,” he said. “The biggest takeaway of the year is to keep pushing forward.”

Participating in AutoDrive helps students gain experience and network with others in various industries.

“There is plenty of work to be done, whether it’s designing different mounts for cameras and sensors, real-time project management skills for business majors, and electrical engineering to help design and develop the harness and various electrical components,” Patterson said. 

During the competition, he also met with representatives from sponsoring companies.

“I spoke with multiple companies that are very interested in not only Kettering students but AutoDrive Kettering students with the experience to do what their companies do,” Patterson said. 

The rules for the Year 3 challenge will be released in late summer or early fall. Until then, Peters said students are making a list of things it needs to improve on from this year so they’ll be prepared and ready to get to work.

On Friday Feb. 24, 2023, the ˿����Ƶ AutoDrive team, Bulldog Bolt, unveiled its new competition car, the Chevy Bolt EV.

The team is in its second year of the AutoDrive II Challenge. The four-year competition, sponsored by SAE International and General Motors, tasks 10 teams with developing and demonstrating a completely autonomous-driving passenger vehicle. Each year, the competition builds on the next by adding more challenges.

During the challenge's first year, the team outfitted a large metal cart with sensors to collect data. The team placed second in the Dynamic Obstacle Challenge, and faculty advisor Dr. Diane Peters received the inaugural Advisor of the Year award.

This year, students will start working on the car.

“The cart prepared us specifically for the perception part of the car,” Peters said. “We were able to set up sensors and test them out. Now, we can put those sensors on the car and focus on the new part: integration with the car.”

Project Manager Hemanth Tadepalli (’23, CS) said the team is ready to move on to the car.

“With the transition from the cart to this year’s car, the team overall feels excited and challenged to implement more strategies and controls into the tasks,” he said. “More importantly, with the car being the most realistic mode of transportation, it’s exciting to see how we can use our expertise to navigate various boundaries and obstacles to make the car autonomous.”

After the sensors are mounted, students will start testing.

“The team has made a lot of progress,” Peters said. “We’ve still got plenty of work to do, but they’re learning a lot and putting it into practice.”

Each competition takes place in June. Until then, teams continue to tweak their cars and participate in workshops. The Year Two challenge will be June 5-11 at MCity in Ann Arbor.

Although the team is in its second year, students can still participate.

“Any interested students are encouraged to learn more about the competition and join the team,” Peters said. “It’s a tremendous learning experience, and our AutoDrive alums end up having great jobs with bright futures.”

Tadepalli echoed Peters’ call for new members, noting having the talent to complete the task is one of the team’s biggest challenges. He said the skills students gain from the experience are just the beginning of the benefits.

“AutoDrive gives the students the opportunity to network with many industries that relate to the automobile field,” Tadepalli said. “If it’s from the coaches, mentors and other students from other schools, all of this brings the expansion of networking and working together with like-minded people on the future of automobiles.”