From ARVP
Every June, approximately twenty teams from Canada, the United States, and Japan will participate in the IGVC in Rochester, MI. The competition consists of three challenges:
- Technical report and vehicle design presentation before a panel of industry judges.
- Autonomous Challenge requiring the vehicle to navigate a path through an obstacle course without human input or control.
- GPS Navigation Challenge requiring the robot to traverse a number of GPS coordinates while avoiding obstacles on the way.
The IGVC's international scope makes it an excellent event for sharing new designs and ideas while its competitive nature promotes constant improvements and innovation. A learning experience
June 2003 - Fourteen members of the ARVP arrived at the competition along with the electronics, computer equipment, and fiberglass shell for the team's robot, Kodiak. Unfortunately, the mechanical platform that all of these components ride on failed to leave Edmonton due to shipping company error. Not willing to admit defeat, the team set out to piece together a vehicle. A ride-on children's electric vehicle was scrounged from the service department at a Toys R Us in Pontiac, MI for $10 and odds and ends from a nearby Home Depot and Sears along with a lot of Velcro held everything in place. Kodiak's systems fit eerily well into the new vehicle dubbed 'KodiHack' and it managed to pass all the qualification tests before the IGVC ended. The quick thinking and resourcefulness shown by the ARVP impressed competitors and the judges who awarded the unique vehicle fourth place in design. While the experience was educational, it is needless to say that shipping arrangements have already been secured for the coming competition in June 2004.
