The CAR Lab

The Connected and Autonomous Research Laboratory (CAR Lab) at the University of Delaware was founded in 2017 by Professor Weisong Shi, an IEEE Fellow. The CAR Lab has become a world-renowned laboratory in the field of connected and autonomous systems, e.g., vehicles, drones, and autonomos robotic arms, producing a series of software and hardware artifacts, including HydraOne, AURA, OpenVDAP, ICAT, BlueICE, VPI, VOCAR, SafePilot, and DAVOS, among others. The lab maintains close ties with colleagues in academia and industry. Our research has been funded by internationally renowned companies such as arm, Autoware Foundation, GM, Meta, Tier-IV, Toyota, Western Digital, etc. The CAR Lab is a premium member of the Autoware Foundation. The CAR lab aims to design and implement enabling technologies, including real-time operating systems, edge computing, C-V2X, data analytics, and applications, as well as a secure, trusted execution environment, privacy-preserving models and tools, to realize the vision of connected and autonomous systems.

In partnership with our industry collaborators and community leaders, the CAR lab has developed the D-STAR (Delaware Smart Transportation And Research) Living Lab. D-STAR is a 500-acre real-world testbed for autonomous physical systems, featuring autonomous vehicles for passenger mobility, drones for delivery and precision agriculture, humanoid robots for indoor delivery, and robotic systems for security, surveillance, and emergency management. Connected through multimodal wireless networks—including private 5G, Wi-Fi, and C-V2X—the living lab provides a unique environment for investigating human-machine interaction, collaboration, and next-generation intelligent infrastructure in a futuristic, real-world setting.

In parallel to research, the CAR lab is committed to education and workforce development for connected and autonomous driving. In the Summer of 2025, in partnership with UD professionals and continuing studies, the CAR lab launched the inaugural Autonomous Driving Academy (ADA) pre-college summer program and developed CARKit, a middleware platform for autonomous driving education.