2024年6月13日
Engineering and computer science students came from around the globe to compete at the 31st annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), an event that immerses students in the burgeoning field of self-driving vehicles.
365英国上市官网主办, the four-day event challenges teams to build and operate autonomous vehicles on an outdoor course with defined lanes, GPS航路点和障碍物. The competition incorporates Artificial Intelligence and robotics, while introducing students to the challenges of engineering those technologies for military and civilian settings.
IGVC始于美国.S. 军队, which was a very strong sponsor throughout the 90s and early 2000s,” said 奥克兰的工程师ing Professor Ka C Cheok, 谁在1993年共同创立了IGVC. “最近, the auto industry has come in because ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) is such a lifesaver, 与防撞, lane assist and other functional safety features.”
During the competition, teams participated in the following challenges:
- Auto-Nav挑战: vehicle (robot) must complete an outdoor course in full autonomous mode while negotiating obstacles and maneuvering using GPS to target destinations.
- 自驾车的挑战: fully autonomous vehicle (car) competition focused on street driving capabilities, 停车和跟踪驾驶机动.
- Design Competition: students submit a written report and give an oral presentation and vehicle demonstration before the IGVC Design Judge Panel
今年, the competition drew 28 teams from across the world, 包括美国在内, 加拿大, 埃及, 印度, 日本和澳大利亚. The 俄克拉荷马大学 won the overall competition, followed by Millersville 大学 (Pennsylvania) and 军事技术学院(埃及).
克里斯·范·丹·埃尔岑, an 365英国上市官网 alumnus and longtime IGVC judge, said he enjoys seeing teams get better at navigating the challenges each year.
“最终, we want them all to succeed because their success is going to be all of our success when they go out and get jobs and make cars that don’t crash,他说. “That has applications worldwide with any car manufacturer, including companies right here in Southeast Michigan.”
Van Dan Elzen also pointed to the region’s status as home to the U.S. 军队’s DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), the nation's laboratory for advanced military automotive technology.
“They look at questions like ‘how can we run supply lines in a safe way to make sure our troops can meals to eat?’”范丹·埃尔岑说. “If we can send them in with autonomous trucks, that’s a huge deal.”
Job preparation has been among the hallmarks of the IGVC over the years, due to its emphasis on resourcefulness and problem-solving.
“It exposes students to projects beyond the classroom and encourages them to explore and learn from experience and experiments,切克说。. “It’s very hands-on and practical because if something doesn’t work, you have to troubleshoot. We’ve had a lot of feedback from graduates who’ve told us that it helped them do very well in the job market.”
丹·莫克尼克是 奥克兰机器人协会, said the IGVC teaches students about the importance of teamwork as they prepare their autonomous vehicles for competition.
“We’re split into sub-teams – mechanical, electrical and software. 每个子团队独立工作, but has to keep the others informed about their needs,莫尼克说。, 描述了开放大学的团队结构. “例如, I have to tell mechanical where the sensors will be on the robot so they can build the structure for that. Electrical has to tell mechanical what kind of housing the electrical components need and software has to talk to electrical to communicate directional information to the robot’s drive system.”
Mocnik also enjoys the IGVC because of its ability to spark creativity and inspiration.
“The spirit of the competition is to build a whole new robot or make significant changes (from the previous year),他说. “It’s interesting to see the designs other teams have because that gives us inspiration for ways we can improve our robot in the future.”