Design Challenge Competition for Students
AR/VR/3D/simulation technologies
Objective
Design and implement a digital competition, to expand global access to the ASME student community
Foster engagement, creativity and STEM design skills
Include AR/VR/3D/simulation technologies
Overview
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is a not-for-profit professional organization that, “promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe”. ASME holds a variety of competitions every year for engineering students from around the world, including during ASME’s annual E-Fest Digital event . However, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, such in-person competitions became impossible to organize. ASME collaborated with SimInsights to design, develop and host a brand new fully digital on-line competition. Utilizing the SimInsights HyperSkill platform, the competition focused on autonomous vehicles. The competition was a success with great feedback from organizers as well as student participants.
Challenges
- Create an autonomous car racing competition and experience in a fully digital platform. Include the right level of difficulty and realism for the target audience, while staying within the time and budget constraints.
Key Features
- 3D Simulation for Desktop, Web and Virtual Reality
- Multiplayer
- Block-based coding
- Design challenge competition
The Solution
Design and launch the competition on a next generation AR/VR/3D/AI enabled software platform.
Design
Two race tracks were provided to competitors to help them develop their solutions. These tracks were used by the competitors to train their own vehicle behaviors which would then be taken and put into a track unseen by the competitors and be measured against other teams. Whichever team’s vehicle behavior design was able to complete the course with the fastest time and fewest crashes was judged as the winner of the competition.
Delivery
The competition was hosted in late March during ASME’s E-Fest Digital event whereby, team members from both ASME and SimInsights were present to encourage the participants and facilitate the event as well as provide live commentary while watching the vehicles move across the track based on their designed algorithms. When available, the winners of the round of the race were brought forward to answer questions about their design, both about the vehicle design and the behavioral (driving) algorithm. During the race, three views of the racing stadium were visible. In addition to the larger view showing the entire course, there was a view showing both the vehicle at all times.
