● Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (NETH) and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (TDET), together with TESA and Kasetsart University, organized the autonomous driving software development competition – “CARLA Contest 2023”
● CARLA is an open-source simulator for autonomous driving research that provides digital assets, flexible specification of sensor suites and environmental conditions to support development, training, and validation
● The initiative intends to raise the potential of students and spark their dream to be part of a new generation of developers, responding to the needs of the automotive industry
Bangkok 16 March 2023: Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co.,Ltd (NETH) and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (TDET), an in-vehicle embedded software developer and distributor of electronic car devices, is nurturing the next generation of Thai software professionals. It launched the CARLA Contest 2023, a competition to develop self-driving vehicle software within its digital twin environment, in cooperation with the Thai Embedded Systems Association (TESA) and Kasetsart University. It’s the third edition of the university competition, but the first time as a virtual simulation.
Mr. Yasushi Takabayashi, President and CEO of Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. said the global automotive industry is abuzz with activity around autonomous driving, which has become a promising trend. According to Marketsandmarkets.com, the autonomous vehicle software development market will grow at an average of 13% per year from 2022 to 2027. In 2022, the market value reached 21.7 billion dollars or around 7.5 billion THB. It is estimated that in 2027 it will be worth up to 40.1 billion dollars, or approximately 1.4 trillion THB.
“What’s important is that all parties are aware of safety. The development of autonomous driving vehicles requires superb control systems, whether it is automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, or avoiding obstacles. CARLA Contest 2023 is focused on such issues,” added Mr.Takabayashi.
At the CARLA Contest 2023, which was held between March 11-12, 2023, NETH and TDET provided training support and training about software development for autonomous vehicles using the CARLA software, which is processed in the cloud. The companies also support the cash prize worth several thousands of baht for the 4 winning teams including the first prize, the first runner-up, the second runner-up and a special prize for the team with the highest scores in the safety drive.
“We hope this activity will be an important starting point for developing competency of Thai software personnel in the field of autonomous driving vehicles by encouraging them to advance to the international stage in the future. As key automotive technology, autonomous driving is gaining the spotlight and it will require continuous development,” said Mr. Takabayashi.
The digital twin is a virtual model in the digital world, allowing multidimensional visualization of a physical object’s working process or system. It provides insights into the physical behavior of a car and alerts on the performance of different parts. It is an important technology that will help promote the development of autonomous vehicles.
Virtual Simulation technology is one of the major trends of automated vehicle driving simulation software. In this competition, NETH-TDET has organized training in all three technologies for students who participated in the competition. CARLA, an autonomous vehicle simulation software operating on a virtual platform, was made available to students to learn.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Supachai Voraphotphisut, Vice President of the Thai Embedded Systems Association (TESA) said that cooperation in organizing this event brought a tremendous success with numerous university students joining the competition. There were 24 teams comprising 77 students attending the program. All of them had a background in software development. This competition is a stage that challenges the New Generation Developers to keep pace with Autonomous Driving software trends and Emerging Technology trends related to autonomous driving.
TESA believes that the Autonomous Driving trend will be an important force in Thailand’s economic development and key driver for its industrial growth. Even though it still plays a small role in the hardware and smart device industry in Thailand, worth more than 3.8 billion THB in 2021, it grows with an annual rate of approximately 20% (data from depa: https://shorturl.asia/a9Ofb). Those smart devices or IoT have artificial intelligence as a core component.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Weerawoot Kanokbannakorn, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, said that the university was proud to be part of the CARLA Contest 2023 competition, which sparked innovation and brought out the potential of students into tangible achievements. It was also an opportunity for them to put their knowledge to test which would yield a competency development of fresh talent for the automotive industry.
In this campaign collaboration, the Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, provided support on high-speed IT infrastructure for the competition, which was a crucial part for that it had to be able to support processing of all 24 teams. The university also provided a venue and facilities to support the competition.
The winning team “Team Up Autonomous 01” from University of Phayao received a THB50,000 award. The first runner up was “Team The Triangle” from Mahidol University, awarded THB25,000. The “Team Tearsky” from Kasetsart University Sriracha was the second runner-up, collecting a THB10,000 prize. The special prize team is UP Autonomous 01, collecting a THB10,000.
The competition format was point-based. The CARLA software is able to provide reports on driving situation results of autonomous vehicles in various areas such as time, deviating, maneuvering, and hit the obstacles, etc. The software can calculate points automatically. The team with the best time and the safest ride would win.
NETH-TDET-TESA-KU will further strive to promote the development of Thai talent, aiming to fulfill the potential of the autonomous driving industry, which plays an important role in the country’s economic development and prepare the country to step up to the international stage in the future.
About Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand)
Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. was established to develop software for vehicle control systems with Thailand as a base country for development and exporting vehicle control software[MW6] to Japan as well as distribution of electronic vehicle components, technological development support, and vehicle knowledge transfer. For more information, please visit https://www.th.nexty-ele.com
About Toyota Denso Electronics (Thailand)
Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (TDET), a joint venture with DENSO International Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore established for software development and design including the installation in electronic control units for engines used in various types of vehicles including the development of Powertrain ECU software control. More information can see at https://www.denso.com/th/th/about-us/company-information/tdet/
● Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (NETH) and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (TDET), together with TESA and Kasetsart University, organized the autonomous driving software development competition – "CARLA Contest 2023"
● CARLA is an open-source simulator for autonomous driving research that provides digital assets, flexible specification of sensor suites and environmental conditions to support development, training, and validation
● The initiative intends to raise the potential of students and spark their dream to be part of a new generation of developers, responding to the needs of the automotive industry
Bangkok 16 March 2023: Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co.,Ltd (NETH) and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (TDET), an in-vehicle embedded software developer and distributor of electronic car devices, is nurturing the next generation of Thai software professionals. It launched the CARLA Contest 2023, a competition to develop self-driving vehicle software within its digital twin environment, in cooperation with the Thai Embedded Systems Association (TESA) and Kasetsart University. It’s the third edition of the university competition, but the first time as a virtual simulation.
Mr. Yasushi Takabayashi, President and CEO of Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. said the global automotive industry is abuzz with activity around autonomous driving, which has become a promising trend. According to Marketsandmarkets.com, the autonomous vehicle software development market will grow at an average of 13% per year from 2022 to 2027. In 2022, the market value reached 21.7 billion dollars or around 7.5 billion THB. It is estimated that in 2027 it will be worth up to 40.1 billion dollars, or approximately 1.4 trillion THB.
“What’s important is that all parties are aware of safety. The development of autonomous driving vehicles requires superb control systems, whether it is automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, or avoiding obstacles. CARLA Contest 2023 is focused on such issues,” added Mr.Takabayashi.
At the CARLA Contest 2023, which was held between March 11-12, 2023, NETH and TDET provided training support and training about software development for autonomous vehicles using the CARLA software, which is processed in the cloud. The companies also support the cash prize worth several thousands of baht for the 4 winning teams including the first prize, the first runner-up, the second runner-up and a special prize for the team with the highest scores in the safety drive.
“We hope this activity will be an important starting point for developing competency of Thai software personnel in the field of autonomous driving vehicles by encouraging them to advance to the international stage in the future. As key automotive technology, autonomous driving is gaining the spotlight and it will require continuous development,” said Mr. Takabayashi.
The digital twin is a virtual model in the digital world, allowing multidimensional visualization of a physical object’s working process or system. It provides insights into the physical behavior of a car and alerts on the performance of different parts. It is an important technology that will help promote the development of autonomous vehicles.
Virtual Simulation technology is one of the major trends of automated vehicle driving simulation software. In this competition, NETH-TDET has organized training in all three technologies for students who participated in the competition. CARLA, an autonomous vehicle simulation software operating on a virtual platform, was made available to students to learn.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Supachai Voraphotphisut, Vice President of the Thai Embedded Systems Association (TESA) said that cooperation in organizing this event brought a tremendous success with numerous university students joining the competition. There were 24 teams comprising 77 students attending the program. All of them had a background in software development. This competition is a stage that challenges the New Generation Developers to keep pace with Autonomous Driving software trends and Emerging Technology trends related to autonomous driving.
TESA believes that the Autonomous Driving trend will be an important force in Thailand's economic development and key driver for its industrial growth. Even though it still plays a small role in the hardware and smart device industry in Thailand, worth more than 3.8 billion THB in 2021, it grows with an annual rate of approximately 20% (data from depa: https://shorturl.asia/a9Ofb). Those smart devices or IoT have artificial intelligence as a core component.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Weerawoot Kanokbannakorn, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, said that the university was proud to be part of the CARLA Contest 2023 competition, which sparked innovation and brought out the potential of students into tangible achievements. It was also an opportunity for them to put their knowledge to test which would yield a competency development of fresh talent for the automotive industry.
In this campaign collaboration, the Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, provided support on high-speed IT infrastructure for the competition, which was a crucial part for that it had to be able to support processing of all 24 teams. The university also provided a venue and facilities to support the competition.
The winning team “Team Up Autonomous 01” from University of Phayao received a THB50,000 award. The first runner up was “Team The Triangle” from Mahidol University, awarded THB25,000. The “Team Tearsky” from Kasetsart University Sriracha was the second runner-up, collecting a THB10,000 prize. The special prize team is UP Autonomous 01, collecting a THB10,000.
The competition format was point-based. The CARLA software is able to provide reports on driving situation results of autonomous vehicles in various areas such as time, deviating, maneuvering, and hit the obstacles, etc. The software can calculate points automatically. The team with the best time and the safest ride would win.
NETH-TDET-TESA-KU will further strive to promote the development of Thai talent, aiming to fulfill the potential of the autonomous driving industry, which plays an important role in the country's economic development and prepare the country to step up to the international stage in the future.
About Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand)
Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. was established to develop software for vehicle control systems with Thailand as a base country for development and exporting vehicle control software[MW6] to Japan as well as distribution of electronic vehicle components, technological development support, and vehicle knowledge transfer. For more information, please visit https://www.th.nexty-ele.com
About Toyota Denso Electronics (Thailand)
Toyota Tsusho Denso Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (TDET), a joint venture with DENSO International Asia Pte Ltd in Singapore established for software development and design including the installation in electronic control units for engines used in various types of vehicles including the development of Powertrain ECU software control. More information can see at https://www.denso.com/th/th/about-us/company-information/tdet/
