Wisconsin Autonomous wraps up AutoDrive II Challenge, showcases strong teamwork

Wisconsin Autonomous has closed the chapter on their AutoDrive II journey, finishing 3^rd Overall across the full five-year AutoDrive II Challenge!

Final tally in 2026, Competition Year 5:

• 2nd Place – Year 5 Overall
• 2nd Place – Year 5 Dynamic Events
• 1st Place — Design Your Own Challenge
• 2nd Place – System Safety & Technical Reports
• 2nd Place – Localization Challenge
• 3rd Place – Project Management
• 3rd Place – 100% Buy Off Ride Challenge

Team President Ryan Murphy joined Wisconsin Autonomous during Year 3 of the competition when they placed 8^th out of 10 teams. They redefined themselves in Year 4 with an impressive 2^nd place finish, but that also put a lot of pressure on them to perform well in the 5^th and final year. “We had to be more organized and use our resources more efficiently than ever before,” Murphy noted. “To effectively execute, we had to find a way to empower all of our members with the ability to contribute. Many of them are underclassmen, so while they don’t know as much, most were very eager to learn and help. And they did! We had non-leadership members contribute to our system more than any year prior.”

Technical Director Keshav Sharan shared, “I would love to highlight the team’s effort to meet our internal goal of making our car as practical as possible. We competed with a sensor stack that cost less than 5% of what some other teams used, which pushed us to be thoughtful and efficient in how we approached autonomy.” Professor Dan Negrut shared a bit more on the technical workload on LinkedIn.

On to the next challenge

As the AutoDrive II Challenge concludes, the team is excited to transition to the EcoCAR Innovation Challenge. “AutoDrive naturally pushed us to be a more software-oriented team, but EcoCAR brings a new challenge,” said Sharan. “As we move into this next phase, mechanical and electrical engineering skills will ​be more central to the team’s success.

We would love for more students to get involved, especially those who want hands-on experience and are willing to put in the effort to help make our new Chevy Blazer move once again. Seeing your work become part of a real vehicle is what makes this team special.”

Congratulations to the hundreds of Badger engineers involved in AutoDrive II over the five years of the competition. In the words of Technical Director Patrick Chen, “Whatever it takes to make the car move.”

Read the full WA post on LinkedIn.

Thanks to team advisor Glenn Bower for providing images.