AU team places second in autonomous lawnmower competition
A team of Auburn engineering students recently placed second at the fifth annual Robotic Lawnmower Competition, held June 5-7, in Dayton, Ohio. The Auburn team received a cash prize of $1,500 and an additional travel grant of $2,000 from the Institute of Navigation. Organized by ION, the competition was sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Honeywell and ION's Satellite Division. The challenge in the basic mowing competition was to develop an autonomous, unmanned lawnmower that could in 20 minutes mow a rectangular field of grass containing one stationary obstacle. Teams were scored on their performance in the mowing competition and on a technical report and presentation on their design. The AU entry was constructed using a lawnmower donated by Briggs & Stratton and equipped with an array of sensors. Their mower was able to cut 50 percent of the grass in the rectangular field within the allotted time.
Tags: engineering