Project number
26506
Organization
UA Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering (Yuma)
Offering
ENGR498-S2026-F2026
The objective of the Racing the Sun - Autonomously project is to develop reliable autonomous (automated) driving capabilities for the ‘Racing the Sun’ solar vehicles. Racing the Sun (https://sarsef.org/programs/competitions/racing-the-sun/) is a STEM event where regional high school teams convert gasoline-powered go karts into solar-powered race cars and then compete in an annual race event at Musselman Honda race track. Students assemble and test the vehicles before the big race day. At the race, student teams compete in different divisions to see who can run the longest and furthest. The goal of the Engineering Senior Design project is to develop an autonomous driving Racing the Sun go cart that can be used to inspire the high school participants to pursue engineering degrees. At the end of the project the Engineering Senior Design team will demonstrate the reliable self-driving capability by having their vehicle complete one or more laps at the Musselman Honda racetrack including demonstrating obstacle avoidance.
In the 2025 interdisciplinary capstone offering, a team re-engineered most of the systems on the vehicle including the electric motor drive, steering, braking, acceleration, a ROS (robot operating systrem) based software system, and prototyped an autonomous driving capability. This year, the project will evaluate the status of these systems and make any improvements required to establish a reliable vehicle platform and add capabilities for advanced driving behaviors such as obstacle avoidance, parking, making a u-turn, etc. The vehicle currently has cameras and a lidar sensor, but other sensors may be required including GPS. GPS is not accurate enough for vehicle control, so other sensors are needed to sense the roadway and plan the driving path. For this project, there will not be any other vehicles on the track when the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode, but obstacles may be placed in the road to demonstrate the advanced driving behaviors.
In the 2025 interdisciplinary capstone offering, a team re-engineered most of the systems on the vehicle including the electric motor drive, steering, braking, acceleration, a ROS (robot operating systrem) based software system, and prototyped an autonomous driving capability. This year, the project will evaluate the status of these systems and make any improvements required to establish a reliable vehicle platform and add capabilities for advanced driving behaviors such as obstacle avoidance, parking, making a u-turn, etc. The vehicle currently has cameras and a lidar sensor, but other sensors may be required including GPS. GPS is not accurate enough for vehicle control, so other sensors are needed to sense the roadway and plan the driving path. For this project, there will not be any other vehicles on the track when the vehicle is operating in autonomous mode, but obstacles may be placed in the road to demonstrate the advanced driving behaviors.