Review: Kick-off Self Driving Challenge 2024

Self Driving Challenge
The Self Driving Challenge offers young talent the opportunity to further develop their skills in the field of smart mobility for six months. A unique project, in which student teams compete with each other by racing their self-driving vehicle on the RDW Test Track in Lelystad. 

Goal of the kick-off
The purpose of the kick-off is to introduce the different teams to the (new) program. The Self Driving Challenge is structured differently this year. For the first time this year, we are faced with more challenges and objectives than ever before. It is more complex, more challenging and for the first time there is an open and closed category. This ensures that there is a higher complexity in collecting and applying new technological developments.

Other important highlights that emerged during the kick-off are the game and house rules, the history of the Self Driving Challenge, photoshoots of the teams, information about the test days and the essence of the Self Driving Challenge.

First experiences of participants
With an extensive presentation from the crew, the participants experienced this day as informative. Participants also got to see the track for the first time and were able to enter it and take a good look. Full of new knowledge and fresh energy, the teams are eager to take to the track with their self-driving vehicle. The healthy competition can also be felt after participants have met each other for the first time.

Challenges Self Driving Challenge
Students now have the choice to participate from an 'open' or 'closed' category. This means that in a 'closed category' the participants receive a factory kart and in an 'open category' the teams bring their own vehicle. This means that the teams compete with each other by having self-driving vehicles perform a number of tests as best as possible on the test track. Such as stopping at a traffic light, parking and taking into account a crossing pedestrian. The team whose self-driving vehicle performs the tests best, fastest and safest is the winner of the Self Driving Challenge.

Vehicle type approvals
The newly added open category for the Self Driving Challenge allows students to come into contact with the development process of an autonomous vehicle in a challenging way, involving new technologies. The teams are required to develop the vehicle in accordance with some of the requirements set out in the L7e regulations. This introduces students to the various rules and standards that the Vehicles, Regulations and Type Approvals (VRT) applies when type-approving a vehicle.

Role of RDW
With this challenge, the RDW wants to meet the current knowledge need. In this way, the RDW wants to prepare itself even better for a future in which self-driving technology plays an increasingly important role, both in use and in the type-approval process. Within this challenge, the RDW also wants to profile itself as a potential employer where young talent and smart mobility come together.

RDW organizes the open category test days and monitors the safety of the students' vehicles. During the test (free) days, students have the opportunity to have their vehicle checked by VRT's experienced inspectors and they can test their vehicle on the track.

Preview
To test the developed software in the interim, the RDW organizes weekly test days on the Lelystad test track. The RDW also organizes online knowledge sessions and participating student teams receive additional training from knowledge partners. The organization will announce the exact schedule for the test days, knowledge sessions and training during the kick-off of the challenge and can be followed on the website: www.selfdrivingchallenge.nl.

Participants Self Driving Challenge 2024