Georgia Tech Takes First Place at the EcoCAR EV Challenge

After days of testing at General Motors’ Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, Georgia Tech won first place in the final year of the current EcoCAR EV Challenge cycle. Tech students competed against 13 universities over four years, applying emerging technologies to create intelligent mobility solutions. 

During the four-year cycle, more than 250 undergraduate and graduate students from six of Georgia Tech’s Colleges worked to reengineer a Cadillac LYRIQ EV, adding a new front motor, a new clutch-enabled rear motor, and automated driving features. In the Motor City, Tech earned 867 out of 1,000 points, outperforming its competitors across technical, vehicle, and connected automation challenges. The team stood out in the Connected Driving Evaluation, developed by Argonne National Laboratory, to measure how effectively teams integrate vehicle connectivity with automated driving features. The GT team also excelled in lateral automation with strong lane-centering and automatic parking performance. 

While meeting all design targets, Tech’s car delivered the competition’s most impressive acceleration, and the team was the only group to successfully demonstrate automatic parking. 

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Teams were tested at the end of each year of the competition cycle, with Tech securing multiple top-three finishes in years past. As the Yellow Jackets were crowned the winners of year four at the final awards ceremony, faculty advisor Antonia Antoniou says the elation and relief felt among the team members were a testament to the group’s resilience.  

“They really are the best of Georgia Tech. There were hurdles along the way where they faced major setbacks, including catastrophic equipment failures that could’ve discouraged them, but they were relentless in their pursuit of perfection,” Antoniou, a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, said.  

Project manager Eric Gustafson has been with the team since day one, and the victory is something he dreamed of and hopes every team member during the last four years can revel in. 

“It was surreal,” he said. “A single moment validating every all-nighter and difficult gauntlet our team worked through to compete against teams with budgets two and sometimes three times larger than ours. To win this challenge, at this Institute, speaks to the tenacity and sheer resilience that Tech students have. To actually execute, almost flawlessly, over a four-year span with different students coming into the program at different times, is a ‘helluva’ achievement.”  

In addition to the first-place overall finish, the team also earned victories in 11 of the competition’s engineering awards and two communications awards.  

Technical Presentations 

First Place System Design and Integration Presentation 
First Place Connected and Automated Vehicle Systems Presentation 

Vehicle Events 

First Place Connected Driving Evaluation – Sponsored by dSPACE 
First Place Energy Consumption 
First Place Consumer Acceptability 
Stay in Your Lane 
First Place Vehicle Drivability Evaluation 
First Place CARB CAV Energy Consumption 
First Place Vehicle Technical Specifications: Georgia Tech; Ohio State University and Wilberforce University 
First Place Combined Longitudinal Acceleration 
First Place Thermal Control Excellence - Sponsored by TCCI: Georgia Tech and the University of Alabama  

Communications 

First Place Communications Program: Georgia Tech and McMaster University 
First Place Impact Video 

A New Cycle Begins

With the conclusion of the current cycle, Antoniou and her fellow faculty advisor, David Taylor, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will now lead recruitment for the team’s next competition cycle, alongside new faculty advisors, Associate Professors Sam Coogan (ECE) and Shuman Xia (ME), as well as communications mentor Jill Fennell, Frank K. Webb Academic Professional Chair in Communication Skills in the Woodruff School.  

“The new team will have big shoes to fill,” Antoniou said. We are lucky to have the chance to work with the students at Georgia Tech, and they have a tremendous opportunity to ‘learn by doing’ and connect with industry partners in the process. I encourage anyone interested to apply because EcoCAR can open so many doors, and it’s a joy for us to watch these students become the leaders they are meant to be.” 

In April, Tech was selected to compete in the competition for the fourth consecutive cycle. Participation in the EcoCAR Challenge is paired with coursework through Georgia Tech’s Vertically Integrated Projects program, allowing students to gain hands-on experience while earning academic credit. 

For application information, visit the EcoCAR VIP’s website.