The University of Detroit Mercy Robotics Team's win at the
Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition could have bigger potential implications than bragging rights over the likes of Princeton, Georgia Tech and Cornell.
The types of robots competing at the event in Rochester earlier this month are used in developing a variety of technologies in everything from military to prosthetics. This is the fourth time U-D Mercy's team has placed, and the second time it took the top prize. This year 50 teams from 43 schools from across North America competed.
"It's nice to show what kind of talent we have in Detroit," says Mark Paulik, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy.
The competition consists of autonomous robots that the students design, create and operate. The idea is to get these "intelligent vehicles" to do simple tasks. Think the Mars Rover.
Today the military is developing these sorts of autonomous vehicles for a number of tasks, including detection and removal of IEDs in war zones like Iraq. They are also used in search-and-rescue situations. Companies that develop prosthetics take advantage of the technology, too, to improve mobility of their products.
Source: Mark Paulik, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy
Writer: Jon Zemke
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