Annual Autonomous Snowplow Competition Set for Jan. 20-21
The snow has been piling up across Minnesota this winter, and if shoveling all that white fluff isn’t your idea of fun, you may want to head out to Dunwoody College of Technology on Saturday, Jan. 21, to see how robots tackle the challenge.
Dunwoody is once again hosting teams from across the United States and Canada for the 13th Annual Autonomous Snowplow Competition. Eleven teams from seven colleges and universities will put their autonomous snowplows to the test as they attempt to plow their way to a podium finish.
Each team will have two attempts at a T-Shaped plowing run, with the first attempt running from 8 a.m. to noon and the second from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Dunwoody parking lot, 818 Dunwoody Blvd., Minneapolis.
Stop by this fun, free event to see the latest in autonomous technology in action and cheer on your favorite team. Competitors include teams from: Case Western Reserve University , Iowa State University, Lake Area Tech, Minnesota State University, Mankato, North Dakota State University, uOttawa-Caribou, and Dunwoody.
THE DUNWOODY TEAMS
The yearly event serves as an opportunity to showcase the technology, skills, and problem-solving needed to build and program machines that can independently clear piles of snow without any manual control.
The students have spent the last several months modifying, testing, and improving three autonomous snowplows for the competition: Wendigo, Wechuge, and Snow Devil.
ABOUT THE SNOWPLOW COMPETITION:
Beginning in 2010, college and university teams from across the United States and Canada have come together to compete in this annual event that challenges them to design, program, and construct an autonomous vehicle capable of plowing paths of snow using navigation and control technology without a human operator. Created by the Institute of Navigation (ION), the event has been previously held during the Winter Carnival and in Toronto Canada.