Oakland University to host 24th annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

ROCHESTER, Mich. - May 26, 2016 - PRLog -- Robotics teams from universities around the world will compete in the 24th annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) at Oakland University June 3-6.

Free and open to the public, the IGVC event features robots designed and constructed by engineering students that perform tasks in three key events:

·      Auto-Navigation Challenge - Vehicles must complete an outdoor course in full autonomous mode while negotiating obstacles and maneuvering using GPS coordinates to target destinations. Teams complete the Basic Course before moving on to the Advanced Course.

·      IOP Challenge - Vehicles perform with the IOP (Interoperability Profiles) open architecture for unmanned systems. The IOP facilitates communications between various robotic platforms."

·      Design Competition - A written report is submitted, then an oral presentation and vehicle demonstration is presented to IGVC Design Judge Panel.

IGVC challenges teams to build and operate autonomous robotic vehicles on an outdoor course with defined lanes, GPS waypoints and obstacles. The four-day competition is held annually on Oakland University's campus in Rochester, Michigan.

More than  $37,500in prize money is at stake in this year's competition, which features teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, India and Turkey. There are several awards up for grabs, including the Rookie of the Year Award, which recognizes the competition's best newcomer, and the Lescoe Cup, the IGVC's top overall prize.

"Smart cars with advanced safety and self-driving features are already here today," said KaC Cheok, Ph.D., co-chairman and co-founder of IGVC, OU engineering professor and Oakland Robotics Association adviser. "The IGVC challenges students around the world, in their college years, to become involved with engineering and technologies that lead into autonomous vehicles."

To host IGVC, Oakland partners with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).

Sponsors of the event include Oakland University, Continental, TARDEC, Hyundai Mobis, AUVSI Foundation, AUVSI Great Lakes, Magna, ClearPath Robotics, Roush, Michigan Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association, Molex and TORC Robotics.

To learn more about IGVC, visit the website at igvc.org.