More than 500 participants from 50 university teams will compete in autonomous driving technology at K-City in Hwaseong. This year, a new category called 'AI Convergence Autonomous Driving' has been introduced, which evaluates the performance of autonomous driving software in a virtual environment without the need for actual vehicle production.
On October 28, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the '2026 University AI·SW Mobility Competition' will take place from October 30 to 31 at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority's Automotive Safety Research Institute in K-City. Participants will tackle autonomous driving tasks such as navigating traffic intersections, responding to visual distortion variables like fog and sunlight changes, and avoiding unexpected obstacles in GPS shadow areas.
The competition will consist of two categories: 'Self-Made Autonomous Vehicles,' where teams drive their own vehicles on K-City roads, and 'AI Convergence Autonomous Driving,' which focuses on the performance of autonomous driving software in a virtual environment.
The newly established AI Convergence Autonomous Driving category aims to reduce the costs and equipment burdens associated with vehicle production, allowing students to focus on algorithm development and performance improvement. The Ministry stated that this initiative aligns with the trend of advancing autonomous driving technology centered on AI learning and aims to enhance software development capabilities.
Outstanding teams will be selected based on task success rates and completion times. A total of 14 awards, including the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award, and a prize pool of 23 million won will be distributed.
This competition will also showcase next-generation Vehicle-in-the-Loop Simulation (VILS), which connects real vehicles with virtual environments in real-time. For those unable to attend in person, a live broadcast will be available on the Automotive Safety Research Institute's YouTube channel.
K-City, where the competition will be held, completed its Phase 3 upgrade project in November last year. At that time, the Ministry announced that the facilities had been enhanced to allow for precise testing of autonomous driving technology in environments similar to actual roads.
Park Jun-hyung, Director of the Mobility and Automotive Bureau at the Ministry, stated, "To strengthen industrial competitiveness through the creation of autonomous driving demonstration cities and support for technology development, it is essential to cultivate talent with AI and software capabilities. We will expand education and demonstration opportunities linked to the field."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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