Young engineers are preparing their autonomous robots to face off in a live competition involving teams from Australian and New Zealand universities.
Twenty-three student teams have passed the five milestone tasks to secure a spot in the 2015 National Instruments Autonomous Robotics Competition (NI-ARC) final at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
This year’s competition focuses on the theme ‘Transport and Roll-out’, where team robots will have to complete tasks such as navigating to a loading bay, collecting goods, navigating to drop off zones, avoiding both static and dynamic obstacles, all while optimising performance to maximise efficiency with the objective of earning the most amount of points.
The 2015 competition highlights the growing use of robotics in the transport and logistics sectors, and encourages students to develop their skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Chandran Nair, Director for National Instruments Asia-Pacific region, said there is a growing need to ensure all students have access to real-world, project-based learning in STEM subjects, including robotics.
Universities have passed five milestone tasks under the guidance of academic supervisors and support of NI engineers in the lead up to the final. Previous themes have focused on fields such as agriculture, mining and search and rescue.
The winner of the NI-ARC will receive a cash prize of $2,500, second and third place will collect $1,000 and $500 respectively. A bonus prize of $500 will be rewarded to the team with the best robot design.
All teams who successfully complete the competition task get to keep the NI Robotics Development kit comprised of LabVIEW Robotics Software Suite and NI myRIO embedded measurement and control platform.
The live final will take place at UNSW from 9am on Thursday, 22 September at the Scientia Building at the University of New South Wales. Admission is free and is open to the general public.
Universities competing in the final include:
NSW: Macquarie University, University of Sydney, University of Western Sydney, University of Wollongong, University of New South Wales, University of Technology Sydney
Queensland: Queensland University of Technology
Victoria: University of Melbourne, Swinburne University, RMIT
South Australia: University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, Flinders University
Tasmania: University of Tasmania Australia
Western Australia: Curtin University
New Zealand: University of Waikato, University of Auckland, Massey University, Manukau Institute of Technology, Victoria University of Wellington