Overview
This documentation details the electrical systems on Carnegie Mellon Racing’s 2025 driverless Formula SAE vehicle, 24a. Our implementation of 24a was specifically designed to retrofit on an existing FSAE platform and its underlying electrical systems, not a ground-up integration.
Note on Terminology: Throughout this document, we primarily use “Driverless System” (DS) and related acronyms (e.g., DSMS, DSB, DSSI) as per the latest FSAE Driverless Supplement. Teams should be aware that Formula Student Germany (FSG) rules and earlier versions of FSAE rules may use “Autonomous System” (AS) and corresponding acronyms (e.g., ASMS, ASB, ASSI) to refer to the same concepts.
Driverless Electrical Systems
The driverless electrical subteam handles the integration of the necessary electrical systems that complies with the driverless regulatory requirements and allows the vehicle to operate autonomously. The following systems were retrofitted onto our existing FSAE vehicle, 24e, for the transition to a driverless FSAE vehicle, 24a:
Autonomous Interface Module (AIM)
Autonomous Mission Indicator (AMI)
Driverless System Status Indicator (DSSI)
Driverless System Master Switch (DSMS)
Remote Emergency Stop (RES)
Emergency Braking System (EBS) Actuators
Autonomous Steering System Actuators
Onboard Computer and Perception Sensors
In addition to the hardware modifications, Driverless Electrical Systems is responsible for the necessary firmware changes to the vehicle’s existing firmware stack to accommodate the newly added Driverless States: DS Ready, DS Driving, DS Finished, and DS Emergency, as well as the implementation of the Driverless inspection mission and safety check features to meet the driverless regulatory requirements.
24a System Block Design Diagram
Driverless State Machine
