TOMSK, Mar 15 – RIA Tomsk. The Tomsk self-driving car successfully passed tests at the FSUE "NAMI" training ground, and although due to violations of technical regulations, it will no longer claim victory in the "Winter City" competition, project will be completed thanks to the sponsors appeared, the director of the "Technical Vision" alliance Victor Shirshin told RIA Tomsk.
Earlier it was reported that the Tomsk team, united by the "Technical Vision" alliance, prepared the car for participation in the "Winter City" competition, but was not allowed to official tests in early March because of violations of technical regulations. Tomic residents were allowed to participate in the "consolatory" finale, but without the possibility of winning a cash prize.
"We were still given the opportunity to test our car after the races of all participants. We were among the individual teams which were able to adjust the technical vision for the first tests. Thanks to video cameras, ultrasound sensors and a GPS module, our self-driving car successfully detected obstacles. In addition, it's one of the few which recognized traffic lights signals from the first time", – Shirshin said.
According to him, the final will be held in December 2019. The car will need to autonomously drive a distance of 50 kilometers in no more than three hours. The "SmartVision Tomsk" team will not be able to qualify for the top prize, but the monetary motivation was not initially decisive for the team.
"The cooperation of companies – is that for the sake of which it is possible and necessary to work on this project. The autoelectric vehicle has already returned to the garage in the SEZ, and we have gathered new ideas and work on errors. It is important that we have sponsors: information wave which rose after RIA Tomsk’s publications on preventing Tomsk citizens from being tested before the tests due to violations of technical regulations attracted much attention to us", – the interlocutor of the agency told.He added that negotiations are underway with several sponsors who are ready to support the Tomsk project of an unmanned vehicle. Shirshin is sure that there will definitely not be a shortage of finances now. The main part of the work comes at the expense of the companies of the "Technical Vision" alliance, but about 5-6 "sponsor" millions will be required to purchase components and pay for work that Tomsk citizens cannot do themselves.
Earlier it was reported that the "Winter City" competition with a prize fund of 175 million rubles was announced by the Russian Venture Company (RVC), Skolkovo Foundation and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. Participating teams will try to create an unmanned vehicle – self-driving car (possibly the first in the world) for winter driving by December 2019.