The Shell Eco-marathon Autonomous Challenge, an international competition consisting of a series of complex tasks for engineering students, was held in Nogaro, France. Széchenyi István University’s SZEnergy Team competed in the Urban Concept category in four events. The team presented the economic background of its development, completed the entire race track in autonomous mode, and then had to perform a precision parking manoeuvre and complete a slalom course.
“Before we went out onto the track, the judges checked whether our vehicle complied with the technical parameters specified in the regulations, and we also had to demonstrate the autonomous system separately. We then presented our development, after which the practical tasks could begin.”
– recalled Péter Kőrös, researcher at Széchenyi István University’s Vehicle Industry Research Center and mentor of the silver-medal-winning team from Győr.
“We consider the result a major success because there was an event that we were the first to complete, and the silver medal we achieved overall is also a fantastic result. During the competition, we identified the issues we encountered and we already know how to solve them, so next time we may be able to perform even better.”
– emphasised the team’s mentor. He added that, as this is a new competition category, the organisers are shaping its final format partly on the basis of feedback from the SZEnergy Team. Through its professional input, Széchenyi István University is therefore also contributing to the high standard of the competition series.
At the Shell Eco-marathon Autonomous Challenge in France, first place was ultimately secured by the Danish DTU (Technical University of Denmark) team, while SZEnergy from Győr (Széchenyi István University) took second place. The Norwegian DNV (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) finished third, ahead of the TU Fast Eco Team (Technical University of Munich) and Italy’s H2politO (Polytechnic University of Turin).
“Our students are capable of outstanding achievements in both electromobility and autonomous transportation. After the global energy-efficiency competition, these young people have now made their mark in the autonomous driving category as well. Their world-class performance confirms that we are on the right track, with young professionals developing at our institution who are capable of meeting the challenges of both today and the future. We are proud that our internationally recognised engineering education can contribute to strengthening the country’s competitiveness.”
– said Dr Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University, congratulating the team and its mentors.
Founded in 2005 by students and researchers at Széchenyi István University in Győr, the 30-member SZEnergy Team develops electric vehicles optimised for energy efficiency and has been involved in electric vehicle development for almost a decade. Its new vehicle was completed in 2019 and has since been continuously developed for autonomous tasks. In addition to energy efficiency, the team is now specifically preparing for competitions that test the vehicle’s self-driving capabilities.
This year, the team achieved the greatest success in its history when it won the Shell Eco-marathon, an international energy-efficiency competition held in the Netherlands in May, setting a world record with an energy efficiency of 284 km/kWh. This latest achievement demonstrates that the students of Széchenyi István University possess world-class expertise not only in energy efficiency but also in the development of autonomous vehicles.
Source: SZE News – Zsolt Papp
