The Countdown is On
With less than a month remaining until this year’ competition, WATonomous has been putting the finishing touches on our autonomous vehicle.
Welcome to WATonomous
WATonomous was founded by five passionate students in January of 2017. After hearing of the SAE AutoDrive Competition, these five students were faced with the task to create a proposal highlighting the facilities, resources, faculty, and students that would make the University of Waterloo a competitive force in this competition. In April 2017, WATonomous was one of 8 teams chosen to participate from over 30 North American universities who applied.
Present day, one year later in April 2018, WATonomous is now a powerful force with 165 undergraduate and graduate students, from the Engineering, Mathematics, Arts, and Science faculties. Our members voluntarily dedicate 8 to 15 hours of their time per week in conjunction with their studies or a full-time co-op term to learn and apply technical knowledge beyond the scope of the classroom. As said by team member Eddie Ren, “it is impossible to quantify how much WATonomous means to me. This team has opened up a deluge of paths and opportunities for its members to explore that cannot be found anywhere else”.
The SAE AutoDrive Challenge™
WATonomous is one of two Canadian universities to participate in the three-year SAE AutoDrive Challenge™. All eight teams will compete to modify a donated General Motors stock Chevrolet Bolt EV into a fully autonomous vehicle by 2020.
This competition has provided our students with the opportunity to gain exposure to cutting edge technology and shape the future of autonomous vehicles. Through the process of developing an autonomous vehicle, students’ gain invaluable hands on experience.
The first of the three annual competitions will take place in Arizona between April 30 and May 5, 2018. In this year’s’ competition, the team will be faced with three separate tasks including:
1. Detecting and stopping at stop signs
2. Lane following on roads of various curvature
3. Avoiding stationary objects by changing lanes
We are eager to showcase our hard work and are confident we will prove we are a force to be reckoned with on the track.
