Self-Driving Car Challenge
Brief:
It’s the year 2050. Tesla shares have tumbled and the company is due for closure. There is an opportunity for a new leader in designing and developing self-driving cars. For funding, you need to create a prototype of a self-driving car and present it, as a working model through a short 5 minute video of it driving around through a city block. Your car needs to navigate at least 3 obstacles and show evidence of using sensors.
You can use RoboCup rescue tiles to create your obstacle course OR use household items.
Specifications:
You need to design and develop the car from scratch. You are welcome to look up ideas and designs online, but you cannot just download an existing idea and present it as your own.
The car needs to be pre-programmed. That is, you cannot use a remote control to maneuver the car.
You are welcome to use any sort of electronics on the car. Choices range from Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Microbit to more expensive units like the VEX and EV3 kits. Adding sensors will be a bonus.
The car should look like a car and not just a flat base with some wheels. It should have some space for passengers, cover over its head - of course you can make a convertible! There are points for design.
The car can have special features like lights (headlamps, brake lights, turning lights etc) , horn or similar. These can give you an advantage should there be a tie.
3D printing, laser cutting and any such methods will have an advantage in the score showing customisation of work. However, an emphasis is placed on reusing / repurposing old materials.
Submission:
You will need to make a 2-5 min (max) video of the car doing the following:
Driving through a city block which you can design yourself using the following specifications. You are welcome to design your own city block. However it needs to show some complexity in the design and not just have straight roads. So ramps and bends will score more over only straight roads. If you can parallel park then that’s a bonus!
There are no marks for the design of the city block. Marks are only for how the car manoeuvres through the block. You can do as many retakes of your car before you film and send the video.
In the video you also need to show us the process of your build and coding. We recommend you taking pictures throughout your build and code, so you can use it in the video and talk over it.
Car dimensions: No set rules, make it as big or small as you can.