BME Department of Automotive Technologies Receives Advanced BMW Diagnostic System

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On June 5, the collaboration between the BME Department of Automotive Technologies and BMW Group reached another important milestone as representatives of BMW Group Hungary officially handed over an advanced diagnostic system, the ICOM device, to the department.

Representing BMW Group Hungary at the handover ceremony were Évi Csomor, Training and Retail HR Manager at BMW Group Hungary, and Róbert Rák, Head of Customer Support at BMW Hungary. The department was represented by Dr. Zsolt Szalay, Head of the Department of Automotive Technologies, and Márk Lelekes, Head of the Innovative Vehicle Technologies Research Group, who received the equipment on behalf of the department.

The advanced ICOM diagnostic system complements the MINI Countryman vehicle previously provided to the department by BMW Group and enables high-level access to the vehicle’s communication systems. The equipment allows detailed analysis of various vehicle subsystems, including battery systems, energy management functions, and other key onboard systems.

The support provided by BMW Group aligns closely with the department’s strategic objective to become one of BME’s leading centers of excellence in the education and research of zero-emission and low-carbon mobility systems. The new equipment represents a significant and highly advanced resource for both education and research activities.

“Providing education for the next generation of vehicle technologies requires that our students work with state-of-the-art industrial tools and real vehicle systems. The ICOM diagnostic system offers an exceptionally deep level of access to the communication and energy management systems of modern vehicles, making it highly valuable for both education and research. Our goal is to integrate these tools into education from the next academic year and to further strengthen our collaboration with BMW Group,” emphasized Dr. Zsolt Szalay, Head of the Department.

According to the department’s plans, the new diagnostic system will already be integrated into educational activities from the next academic year, enabling students to gain direct hands-on experience with the operation and diagnostic processes of modern electrified vehicle systems.

From a Rolling Headlight Trim to the Frontline of European Accident Investigation – A Feature on Dr. Gábor Melegh, Former Head of Our Department

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Where does a detached headlight trim roll after a traffic accident? At first glance, it may seem like an insignificant technical detail. Yet in reconstructing a road accident, it can become a decisive question. More than five decades ago, it was precisely a problem like this that launched the professional journey of Dr. Gábor Melegh, retired lecturer, former Head of the Department of Automotive Technologies at BME, honorary university professor, and still an active educator today, who would go on to become one of Hungary’s and Europe’s leading authorities in traffic accident analysis.

Recently, Autószektor published an in-depth feature article about the honorary professor of our department. The publication provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the milestones of an exceptional career that has shaped not only Hungarian forensic traffic accident investigation for decades, but has also had a lasting impact on the development of our department.

Dr. Gábor Melegh headed the Department of Automotive Technologies at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics between 2002 and 2012. Under his leadership, the department further strengthened its position in both education and research, while he simultaneously built a professional career whose significance extended far beyond the university.

Holding a doctoral degree in transportation sciences, he has prepared more than 25,000 forensic expert reports, including approximately 15,000 criminal traffic accident cases and 10,000 civil cases. As a forensic expert, he participated in the investigation of several major transportation tragedies in Hungary — from the Pörböly school bus tragedy to the bus accidents in Taszár and Agárd — while also contributing to the analysis of accidents involving senior public figures and politicians.

However, the significance of his work lies not merely in the number or prominence of the cases, but in the engineering mindset he consistently represented: the precise interpretation of details, the systematic evaluation of physical evidence at accident scenes, and the pioneering use of computer simulations in accident reconstruction. At a time when such methods were far from commonplace, he was already developing his own software programs to support accident analysis.

Another defining dimension of his professional legacy is knowledge transfer. Dr. Melegh played an active role in establishing postgraduate university training for forensic traffic experts and contributed to the development of educational materials and textbooks that have become foundational references for generations of professionals. It is a particular privilege for our department that, even after retirement, he continues to participate in teaching, passing on decades of accumulated expertise and experience to future engineers and specialists.

Perhaps those who have known him as a mentor, colleague, and friend can best capture the true impact of his work.

“For me, he has been a teacher, colleague, and friend in one person. More than 35 years ago, he supervised my university work, and later we had the opportunity to work together. His professional knowledge is invaluable, and he has always been exemplary both in his profession and in his personal life,” said Dr. Gábor Vida, lecturer at our department and forensic expert.

Dr. Melegh has also played a significant role in the international development of the field. He contributed to the harmonization of European accident investigation methodologies, played a founding role in establishing the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis (EVU), and held leading positions in several Hungarian forensic expert organizations.

For the Department of Automotive Technologies at BME, educators who combine high-level engineering expertise with a deep sense of social responsibility represent a particularly important value. The forensic investigation of road accidents is far more than a technical exercise: it helps establish the foundation for legal decisions affecting human lives, enables lessons to be learned, and ultimately contributes to preventing future tragedies.

The Autószektor feature pays tribute to an extraordinary professional career. For us, it also serves as a reminder of the lasting value created when a department is shaped — and continues to be enriched — by professionals whose knowledge, integrity, and commitment leave a mark across generations.

Safety First! 2026 – Transportation Safety Innovation Competition Concludes for the Fourth Time

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The Safety First! 2026 transportation safety competition, organized for the fourth consecutive year by the Department of Automotive Technologies at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and its Safety and Security Research Group, has successfully concluded. At this year’s final round, student teams presented the research and development results they had been working on throughout the semester, offering innovative responses to real-world vehicle safety challenges.

Since its launch, the goal of the Safety First! competition has been to provide students with an opportunity to work on real engineering problems while developing their professional skills with both academic and industrial support. Throughout the multi-stage competition, participants are expected not only to develop technically sound concepts, but also to demonstrate their applicability and present their results in a professional manner.

In the final round, projects were evaluated by an expert jury based on five key criteria: the quality of the abstract, the technical standard of the documentation, the level of innovation, project maturity, and the quality of the oral presentation.

Innovative Solutions for the Future of Vehicle Safety

This year’s competition once again reflected the technological diversity of today’s automotive industry, covering topics ranging from vehicle dynamics and artificial intelligence to driver monitoring systems and the verification of safety-critical functions.

🥇 1st Place – Squadron

Reinforcement Learning Based Oversteer Control Under Dynamically Changing Adhesion

The winning team introduced a hybrid Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Reinforcement Learning-based vehicle stability solution capable of adaptive intervention under rapidly changing road adhesion conditions. The system supports safe vehicle control through real-time decision-making and demonstrates promising applicability in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and fleet-level safety applications.

🥈 2nd Place – NOVA

Neural Optimization for Verified Automotive Safety

The second-place project addressed a particularly timely challenge: how to reconcile the performance of neural networks with the strict verification requirements of automotive safety-critical systems. The team presented an innovative concept combining the trainability of AI-based vehicle functions with validation and certification considerations.

🥉 3rd Place – OrbitDMS

Modelling Multi-Sensor Fusion for Driver Monitoring System for Takeover Readiness

The third-place team focused on one of the key challenges of partially automated driving: how to reliably determine whether a driver is ready to take back control of the vehicle. Their multi-sensor fusion approach could contribute to safer transitions between automated and manual driving.

Real Industry Perspective, Practical Experience

The competition once again demonstrated that students are capable of addressing today’s automotive challenges at a remarkably high professional level. The presented projects stood out not only for their technical depth and practical relevance, but also for the mature, systems-level engineering mindset demonstrated by the participants.

“One of the greatest strengths of the Safety First! competition is that it gives students the opportunity to challenge themselves in an environment that closely resembles real industrial development processes. Beyond technical content, problem definition, high-quality documentation, and professional presentation skills are equally important,” highlighted Tamás Kazár, chief organizer of the competition and PhD researcher of the Safety and Security Research Group at the BME Department of Automotive Technologies.

Acknowledgements to Our Supporters and Jury Members

This year’s competition was once again supported by our industrial partner, Bosch, whose expert involvement provided students with direct insight into industrial expectations and development perspectives.

We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to the members of the professional jury for their valuable feedback and dedicated work:

  • Réka Jenei (Bosch)
  • Tamás Kazár (BME KJK, Safety and Security Research Group)
  • Árpád Török (BME KJK, Head of the Safety and Security Research Group)

We warmly congratulate all participants for their hard work and dedication, and especially the finalist teams for their outstanding achievements.

Over the past four years, the Safety First! competition has evolved into a unique professional platform where students not only compete, but also develop genuine engineering thinking, presentation skills, and an industry-oriented mindset. We are already looking forward to the innovative ideas and new challenges of next year’s competition.