UTAC, a global leader in automotive testing and proving grounds, has announced the fifth edition of the UTAC Challenge, which will take place on Thursday 22nd May at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhery, near Paris, France – UTAC’s global headquarters.
The annual competition invites European engineering schools, universities and startups to compete against each other to design and develop vehicles or innovative functions in the field of autonomous, sustainable and safer mobility.
Teams compete in one or more of the following categories, with the first three requiring a vehicle or prototype, allowing the performance of autonomous vehicles and innovative technologies to be evaluated under varied conditions.
- Automated urban route: Tests the ability of autonomous vehicles to navigate safely on a highway. Teams must demonstrate their lane change management, adaptation to traffic conditions, and responsiveness to obstacles. This test simulates real-life highway scenarios and tests the reliability of autopilot systems.
- Automated highway route: Immerses participants in a more dynamic and complex environment. Here, vehicles must navigate intersections, react to traffic lights, and take into account the presence of pedestrians and cyclists. This test highlights the systems’ ability to interpret their environment and make intelligent decisions in a rapidly changing environment.
- Automated parking test: Participants must demonstrate their proficiency in parking manoeuvres, detecting available spaces, and, in some cases, communicating with a connected infrastructure. This test is essential for validating innovations in valet parking and smart parking assistance.
- Free challenge: Aimed at teams who want to work on innovative topics without a physical vehicle. Participants can propose projects in advanced simulation, automotive cybersecurity, applied artificial intelligence, or multi-sensor perception. This challenge offers total flexibility to explore emerging concepts and push the boundaries of technology.
Participants have the opportunity to test and demonstrate their projects in conditions close to reality, thanks to the dedicated infrastructures of the TEQMO centre in Linas-Montlhéry.
Clara Poillion, R&D Project Manager at UTAC, commented: “We’re pleased to announce the return of the UTAC challenge, with 14 teams from France and the UK set to demonstrate their innovative solutions that may help shape the future of mobility.
“Each year the event goes from strength-to-strength and this year we are welcoming our largest number of entrants to date – with five more teams than last year and twice the number of vehicles and prototypes (10 vs 5 in 2024). This is thanks in large part to our key partner, SIA (Société des Ingénieurs de l’Automobile), along with our sponsors NB Tech, Cil4Sys, IPG Automotive and DSpace, in addition to the promising young talents who showcase their skills, knowledge and imagination.”
The competitors will be supported by experts and tutors from the SIA throughout the process, providing valuable technical input to help them create solutions that best address current industry challenges, judged by a panel of experts from UTAC and the SIA. This year the following academic institutions are taking part: ESIGELEC, ENSTA Paris, UTC, ENSTA Bretagne, ESTACA, ESEO, IUT Orléans, GARAC, EPITECH, SORBONNE, Cranfield University (UK). They are joined by startups INRIA MOBPTI & IMT ATLANTIQUE and POMOROBOTICS (UK).
