It’s the region’s biggest robotics showdown.

Two dozen autonomous robots designed by engineering students from across Australia and New Zealand will compete for robot supremacy in Sydney next month.

The National Instruments Autonomous Robotics Competition (NIARC) is a student competition designed to encourage development and innovation in the field of robotics.

This year’s event will feature a team from one of Singapore’s top universities, the Nanyang Technological University, competing for the championship.

The theme is transportation innovation – the robots will have to navigate around a mini city grid, avoid obstacles and respond to road rule changes. They must also adjust their speed in line with school zones and highways and pick up “passengers” and return home safely.

Each robot's objective is to earn the most amount of points by completing the required tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible.

During the past six months, the participants, ranging from first year university students to PhD candidates, have had access to industry-leading hardware and software by NI to design and program intelligent vehicles.

Exciting innovations to come

“Today’s vehicles are supercomputers on wheels but there are still so many exciting innovations to come,” said Chandran Nair, Vice President for Asia-Pacific, National Instruments. “Car manufacturers are racing to bring autonomous vehicles to market and the technology has the potential to change everything about the way we move people and goods. That’s why we are so excited to be able to offer students the opportunity to be a part of that change.

“The industry will face increasingly complex systems and demands for improved speed, productivity and efficiency. By enabling the students to work with industry-leading hardware and software, we can help provide them with the real-world skills needed to become tomorrow’s top engineers.”

Now in its seventh year, NIARC has grown from just 11 teams to more than two dozen, all from leading Australian and New Zealand universities.

The live finals will be held at the University of Technology, Sydney on Tuesday, September 5, in front of hundreds of spectators and a panel of leading industry judges. The event is free to attend. 

Participating universities this year include:

University of Auckland (NZ)

Curtin University (WA)

Edith Cowan University (WA)

Flinders University (VIC)

Macquarie University (NSW)

Massey University (NZ)

University of Melbourne (VIC)

Nanyang Technological Institute (Singapore)

University of New South Wales (NSW)

University of Tasmania (TAS)

University of Technology Sydney (NSW)

University of Queensland (QLD)

RMIT University (VIC)

Swinburne University of Technology (VIC

University of Waikato (NZ)

Western Sydney University (NSW)

University of Wollongong (NSW)

Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
 

When: Tuesday, September 5
Time: 9am - 5pm (Quarterfinals to begin about 2pm)
Where: Building 1, Level 5, Great Hall, University of Technology Sydney