Spectacular Student Racing Car Competition to Thrill at Embedded World
Next month, during student day at Embedded World in Nuremberg, the third Renesas MCU Car Rally competition will be held. In this event, students are required to craft a working toy race car using electronic components and software provided by Renesas.
Universities from all over Europe send their students to compete. This year, for the first time, Renesas will present an Innovation Award for the team that incorporates the most creative and advanced enhancements in areas like design, construction, technology, ecology, and performance. For instance, a team might replace the traditional guiding sensor with a camera.
Since the first rally in 2015, participation has expanded dramatically, growing from 16 teams with 96 students to 30 teams with 150 students. These students have dedicated an entire semester to perfecting their designs for this year’s race.
This competition is particularly beneficial for final-year engineering students as it allows them to develop a real product using the latest microcontroller technology. This year’s 30 participating teams come from universities in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, and the UK.
Renesas is organizing the rally in partnership with UK-based And Technology Research, which provides technical support. “We are extremely proud to be part of such an exciting community project by providing support to the teams,” says Valerie Lynch, CEO of And Technology Research. “The creativity and technical sophistication of the students’ work continue to inspire us to expand the challenge and introduce new features.”
For many students, this event is a highlight of their academic year. Their schools recognize their work on the rally cars as official coursework, and they receive academic credit towards their degrees.
Andrea Nuyken, project manager of the MCU Car Rally at Renesas Electronics, shared, “This competition excites us every year, and we’re always very impressed with the students’ technical skills, creativity, and professionalism. It also gives us the opportunity to meet some of Europe’s top future engineering talent.”
Student day is a major draw, attracting more than 1,000 students annually.
