2026 Self-Driving Car Student Competition, Powered by MathWorks and Quanser

Saint-Malo, France

Overview
Challenge
Important Dates
Application Stages
Award Package
Resources

Where Intelligence Meets Mobility

The Self-Driving Car Student Competition, powered by MathWorks and Quanser, invites the brightest student minds from around the globe to step into the future — to design, develop, and demonstrate their own self-driving intelligence using MATLAB® and Simulink®.

5 Simple Steps to get involved:

Collaborate with your peers
Register to participate in the challenge
Request access to MATLAB and Simulink
Install the QLab Virtual QCar add-on
Simulate and Develop — access the GitHub repository and embark on your QCar development journey

Team Name	University Name	Country
Cyberiada	Trinity College Dublin	Ireland
Team Innova	Effat University	Saudi Arabia
Autonomous Wolves	Universidad Iberoamericana CDMX	Mexico
FALCON	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)	Saudi Arabia
AutoWheels
Marvel	The Hashemite University	Jordan
CtrlA
TARS	IIT Delhi	India
NEU-AV	NEAR EAST UNIVERSITY	Cyprus

Autonomous Urban Adventure

This competition unfolds in two exciting stages — a virtual challenge and a live showdown — as teams take on the Autonomous Urban Adventure:

Navigate the city to complete pick-up and drop-off requests.

Make intelligent decisions to follow road rules, optimize routes, and maximize your “earnings.”

Adapt in real time as the clock ticks down and your AI competes to climb the leaderboard.

February 27, 2026: Registration Closed

March 31, 2026: Video Submission Deadline

May.11 – May 14, 2026: In-person Competition

1Stage 0: Registration

Team registration has opened, until February 27, 2026
2Stage 1: Virtual Competition

Using Quanser QLabs Virtual QCar, teams will develop their control and perception algorithms entirely in MATLAB and Simulink, leveraging all the necessary toolboxes.

Teams will submit a demonstration video and a technical summary report detailing their design, methodology, and performance.

A panel of experts from MathWorks and Quanser will evaluate submissions to determine the top-performing teams.
3Stage 2: On-Site Finals at CPS-IoT Week 2026

The top teams will earn their spot in Saint-Malo, France, for an unforgettable 4–day live competition during CPS-IoT Week 2026. They’ll bring their virtual designs to life on the physical Quanser QCar 2 platform.

For details, please visit the GitHub link in the Resources & Contact Tab.

First Place:

$1000
1-Year License for MATLAB/Simulink and QLabs
Certificates

Second and third Place:

1-Year License for MATLAB/Simulink and QLabs
Certificates

GitHub: CPS IoT Competition Details

Important Links

Overview: MathWorks ADAS and Automated Driving Tools
Overview: MATLAB Resources by Quanser for Self-Driving Car Student Competition, CPS-IoT Week 2026
Apply for MathWorks Student Competition License: Click to download
Get the Quanser Interactive Labs for MATLAB addon: Quanser Interactive Labs for MATLAB – File Exchange – MATLAB Central
Learning Path: ADAS Learning resources for Students

How – to Videos

Getting Started

Tutorial Series

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Even if you just have an idea or question, we are more than happy to connect with you.