Its competitions like the Intelligent Ground Vehicle competitionat Oakland University that drive college and university autonomous robotics teams to excel.

We have seven different competitions, said Andrew Strazds, a senior from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida, during Mondays finals taking place in a parking lot at the south end of the campus.

This is the only one that wasnt cancelled because of COVID-19. he added, after doing a demonstration with the robot he and his team had built.

Dark clouds had moved in and the rain sent most of the other teams scrambling for cover. Being from Florida, where rain is common, Strazds team went the extra mile to ensure that their robot could withstand the wind and rain.

In fact, they named their robot, RAIN, which is also the acronym for Robot for Advanced Intelligent Navigation.

This addition alone earned them points in the competition.

They are one of the few schools that did a good job of weatherproofing, said Bernie Theisen, who was among the judges at the annual event that challenges engineering students to design autonomous vehicles and compete in a variety of unmanned mobility competitions including Auto-Nav, in which vehicles complete an outdoor course in full autonomous mode while negotiating obstacles.

It demonstrates what weve learned, said Strazds. Its really nice to see everything working, or not.

Im tweaking ours for a better performance, said Lloyd Brombach, a computer science student at Wayne State University who was joined by his teams mentor, Abhilash Pandya. Vernoica, as the robot was named needed to go faster, so Brombach had to make adjustments to the computer program.

Jerry Lane who was instrumental in creating the event for students said the teams work all year on the vehicles before attending the competitions.

They design it. They develop it, build it, test it, fix it, and then compete, he said.

Since its start more than 15-years-ago, IGVC has been highly praised by participating faculty advisors as an excellent multidisciplinary design experience for student teams. Not only do they get to see their vehicles in action, but also get the opportunity to meet other students with similar interests. Some schools also extend senior design course credits for student participation.

Among the guests in attendance for the competition was Michael Cadieux, director of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (formerly U.S. Army TARDEC) at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren. Cadieux brought his children out to see robotics in action.

Robotics is a lot cooler when you see it in person, said Cadieuxs 12-year-old son.

To view the list of winners or find out more about the competition visit igvc.org/teams.htm

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Oakland University 's IGVC fuels the inspiration behind autonomous robotics teams - The Oakland Press