BRUM - RDW Self Driving Challenge 2026
Smart Systems
Semester programme:High-Tech Embedded Software Engineering
Research group:High Tech Embedded Software
Project group members:Thomas Slack
Kasper Szczerba
Valentin Morişcă
Vincent van Laarhoven
Koen van den Elsen
Project description
The RDW Self Driving Challenge has an updated ruleset this year, in which the final track is unknown until the day of the competition. This makes the strategy used in earlier editions where BRUM took part unusable. Therefore, a new approach is needed to handle the track in real-time. This must however be done without any additional budget, so the current hardware must be used.
Context
The project focusses on future technologies, where cars are capable of driving themselves in a safer way than humans ever could be capable of. To support this development, the Dutch road authority (RDW) has created a yearly competition in which various universities take part to produce the best self-driving car.
This can be done in either the closed category (predetermined vehicle and sensor setup) or in the open category, where it is up to the team to create a vehicle and sensor setup to fit within the ruleset.
BRUM has been competing in the open category for two years now, winning both editions in which it took part.
Results
As the final event will take place on the 16th of June, the final results are yet to be determined at the time of inscribing the project. However, the project has one simple aim: continue the winning streak of BRUM in the RDW Self Driving Challenge.
Using a basis for real time detection, and a fall-back rapid route planner which could be used at the final event day, the team is positively looking forward to the final event.
About the project group
The team working on this project consists of four technology-track students and one software-track student. This combination results in the right amount of expertise in the various relevant fields of developing a self-driving vehicle.