Another DARPA-Sponsored Robotics Competition

dexterpexter writes "While some say that DARPA played unfairly in eliminating Grand Challenge teams they deem unworthy, they, the Department of Defense, and General Motors (among others) sponsor an autonomous robotics competition in which they exercise less control over who competes and who does not. The rules are more lenient and the prizes are less illustrious, but this competition still holds the spirit of 'openness' and rewarding innovation that the Grand Challenge seems to have lost. Of course, you must be from a university to compete, but any university-based vehicle passing the competition-day qualifications gets a fair shot at winning. No pre-competition disqualifications. My team has competed for several years."

Comments

Universities only?

[musingmelpomene]

I wonder if anyone's thought about the fact that many of America's most talented, creative young people - and many of its most technologically gifted - aren't in college.

Many see it as a waste of time and money that could be better spent creating a business, or working on their pet project.

Why should this sort of competition be limited only to those who are conventional enough to find a home in the traditional university setting?

I'll bite

[qedigital]

I've competed in the last three IGVCs and plan on being there again this summer. Until the announcement of the DARPA Grand Challenge (and the subsequent IRRF spinoff), the IGVC was really the only choice for land-based autonomous robotic competition. While the problems presented by this competition are challenging and tend to get more difficult each year, the 'only game in town' mentality is reflected in the way that the whole competition is organized. The venue and activities have remained relatively unchanged (albeit when the competition is held in Orlando in conjunction with the AUVSI Robotics Symposium) . Going on experiences at a variety of other North American engineering competitions, one would expect boasting prominent sponsors and judges from the likes of GM, Ford, and the US DOD TACOM that some industry tours and media attention would be organized. With teams spending thousands of dollars and travelling great distances to participate, such things would bring even more meaning to this important competition.

In terms of the actual IGVC events, it's important to note that they are heavily software based. Very little emphasis is placed on mechanical design or aesthetics and for this reason entrants have actually submitted milk crate and plywood based vehicles and other such contraptions that have zero real-world utility.

The meat of the IGVC is in the Autonomous Challenge. It consists of an obstacle course that the robot must navigate without leaving a defined lane or displacing an obstacle. This event has yet to be completed by a robot since it was overhauled a few years ago and made much more difficult with increased complexity and the introduction of a variety of traps.

This post is not intended to put down the IGVC or its competitors. The competition is an excellent way of getting some academic experience in the field of autonomous robotics without the enormous time and dollar committment of something like the DARPA Grand Challenge. At the same time it is important to recognize that there is room for improvement at the IGVC and that other competitions should be encouraged as this field matures.

Re:With what they pulled last time...

[qedigital]

2 reasons:
1. The IGVC has been around since 1993.
2. DARPA is by no means the main sponsor. The competition is held by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (http://auvsi.org) that also hosts an air and underwater competition in addition to the this ground event.