The Michigan State University College of Engineering will offer a rare birds-eye view into how students, faculty and industry partners are making an impact through autonomous racing by showcasing the Team PoliMOVE-MSU Indy Autonomous Challenge car. It will be displayed in the MSU Engineering Building’s west lobby April 18 from 12 pm to 6 pm and April 19 from 8 am until 4 pm.
“Now is an exciting time to be involved in autonomous driving as new technologies – from robo-taxis to autonomous race cars – are emerging from the lab to change the world,” said Daniel Morris, associate professor in the MSU departments of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. “The PoliMOVE-MSU team is building new autonomous driving capabilities for high-speed racing as part of the Indy Autonomous Challenge.
“We're excited for everyone to see our vehicle outfitted with the latest sensors and computer equipment and to showcase how Spartan Engineers and our Italian partners are programming the car to autonomously maneuver and compete at the physical limits of high-speed racing.”
Morris leads a team of technical experts and student researchers from MSU working in close partnership with Politecnico di Milano, the largest technical university in Italy, and the University of Alabama. Prior to teaming with MSU, Politecnico di Milano was the lead for the PoliMOVE autonomous racing team.
The partnership with MSU, formed last year, resulted in a new team called PoliMOVE-MSU that has already generated success with a first-place win in the Indy Autonomous Challenge’s 2024 Simulation held January 11 in Las Vegas.
MSU is the first and only team from Michigan to race in the IAC series, which officially launched in 2019. The IAC series challenges university students from across the globe to invent and test a new generation of automated vehicle software – including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – to operate fully autonomous race cars. This opportunity for students is made possible by public-private partnerships and support from academic institutions.
Full slate of races
Team PoliMOVE-MSU will compete with other university-lead teams in multiple high-speed races in 2024 and 2025, including races at the Indianapolis Speedway, Monza in Italy, and the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England. PoliMOVE-MSU will attempt to set a world record in July for autonomous vehicles during the Festival of Speed’s timed road run.
All autonomous racing teams are provided identically outfitted Dallara vehicles able to reach speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour. In place of the driver is a high-performance computer and GPU with an array of sensors. These include multiple Luminar LiDARs, Continental radars, cameras, GNSS receivers, wheel encoders and more.
How to get involved
The car will be featured during the college’s premier undergraduate academic event of the year, Design Day, which gives students the opportunity to share their latest technological advances and research with the MSU community and corporate partners. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on Team PoliMOVE-MSU and the Indy Autonomous Challenge, contact MSU Mobility and Innovation Director Judd Herzer.
When MSU's Indy Autonomous Challenge partnership with Politecnico di Milano was announced in December, Herzer said it creates "an impactful way to collaborate with automotive and tech companies, and opportunities and connections for our engineering talent and software developers.”
For media inquiries, contact Eric Lacy, communications manager with the College of Engineering at MSU.