NOVA | The Great Robot Race | Meet the Teams

Virginia Tech
Robots: "Rocky" & "Cliff"
Body: 4WD Club Car Pioneer XRT 1500 utility carts

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Affiliation: Virginia Tech

Hometown: Blacksburg, VA

Leaders: Profs. Charles Reinholtz, Al Wicks, and Graduate Research Assistant Brett Leedy

Team size: 40+ undergraduate students, 10 grad students, 2 faculty, 5+ volunteers

Budget: <$20,000 cash, with equipment donations worth ~$100,000

Key technologies: 3 lidar range finders, stereo vision road following, GPS, and inertial navigation system

Biggest challenge(s): Getting to the Grand Challenge! The team spent more money driving to and staying in California and Nevada than they spent constructing both vehicles. The team braved 24-hour days, flat tires, and hurricane detours to make it to the competition on time.

Race results: Rocky: Out of race at 39 miles. Cliff: Out of race at 44 miles.

What they're up to now: The undergraduate team is improving the vehicles and gearing up for a head-to-head competition through the mountains of southwest Virginia. The VT Challenge will test Rocky versus Cliff on their home turf in an off-road mountain course.

Where the vehicle is now: Both vehicles reside in the Unmanned Systems Lab at Virginia Tech, where they are used for autonomous research. They can be found driving the fields near campus in preparation for the VT Challenge.