INDIANAPOLIS—A team of students from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) won the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) here. They competed in a field of nine teams from 21 universities to win the $1 million grand prize at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The rules of the IAC competition required each team to compete in a fastest lap competition that included an obstacle avoidance component. The winning team recorded the fastest two-lap average speed of 135.944 mph on the world-famous 2.5-mile oval race track.

“Participating in the Indy Autonomous Challenge allowed our team to advance autonomous driving technology, and being able to take first place after two years of hard work acknowledges that we had an outstanding team,” says Alex Wischnewski, team leader of TUM Autonomous Motorsport. “Our next goal is to win a high-speed autonomous head-to-head race.”

According to Wischnewski, the prize money will help support TUM’s efforts to further autonomous technology research and development.

A variety of automotive and high-tech suppliers were involved in the IAC, including Ansys, Bridgestone, Cisco, Dallara, Hexagon, Intel, Microsoft and Schaeffler.

Prior to the on-track time trials, a package delivery drone from Telegrid Technologies Inc. dropped off a box containing a checkered flag. Boston Dynamics Inc.’s Spot mobile robot served as the official IAC flag waver for the event.

The next round of the Indy Autonomous Challenge will be held on Jan. 7, 2022, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.