CPM Academy: A Remote Platform for Teaching Current Topics in Connected and Automated Vehicles

Bridging the gap between expensive real-world testing and inaccurate simulations, self-driving labs provide new opportunities for education and research in the field of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). However, self-driving labs also have limited accessibility, requiring either travel or replication. To overcome these limitations, the Cyber-Physical Mobility (CPM) Lab at RWTH Aachen University offers publicly available remote access (CPM Remote). CPM Remote is a web framework that provides an easy introduction to CAVs and, together with the connection to the physical lab, a direct reference to reality. However, simply providing a platform is usually not enough to engage users. Therefore, we presented an application example called CPM Olympics, which was developed for researchers. In this paper, we present a second application example called CPM Academy. It is tailored for practice-oriented education and therefore designed and developed for students. The CPM Academy follows a didactic approach with various gamification elements and features a level-like structure built around a realistic scenario in the form of a package delivery service. In this way, the CPM Academy enables the study of various current topics in the context of CAVs, including control engineering, motion planning, and decision making. In addition, automated feedback and benchmarking help to engage students and improve the algorithms developed. The CPM Academy is freely accessible and is already being used in a teaching course at RWTH Aachen University.