Northeastern Mars Rover Team Places First at the Winter Canadian International Rover Challenge

March 5, 2024

The Northeastern Mars Rover Team competed in the inaugural Winter Canadian International Rover Challenge, where they took home the gold, placing first and securing their first-ever competition win. Taking place in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Northeastern competed against teams from McMaster University, the University of Toronto, and York University. The competition included four challenges spread across two days.

The Northeastern Mars Rover Team spent their President’s Day Weekend competing in the inaugural Winter Canadian International Rover Challenge, where they took home the gold, placing first and securing their first-ever competition win.

The competition took place across the Canadian border in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Northeastern competed against teams from McMaster University, the University of Toronto, and York University. The competition included four challenges spread across two days and proved to be a great test for the team’s latest iteration of their rover, Watney, Mark V.

First up was the Arm Dexterity Challenge, which required teams to operate their rover between four control panels to re-configure the system and restore power to the camp. This challenge required precise movements of the rover’s robotic arm to press buttons, flip switches, and maneuver a joystick. The team’s newly re-designed robotic arm and intuitive control systems proved to be very beneficial, as the team scored a competition-high 49.49 points.

Up next was the Ice Core Drilling Challenge, where teams had to navigate to three potential sites for a new well and collect ice samples to determine which site was the most optimal. Even though a malfunction caused the rover’s ice drill to fail, they persevered, using the rover’s cameras to survey the characteristics of each site and determine the best location for the well. Also, the team worked together to collate their findings and write a report on the site they recommended. This challenge netted the team 33.60 points.

The next challenge was Avalanche Search and Rescue, where the rover had to uncover an astronaut buried under an avalanche and bring them to safety. The second part of the challenge was to install a slope stabilizer at a predetermined location to prevent future avalanches in the area. Using the provided location of the astronaut, the rover quickly located them and returned them to safety. Additionally, the rover was able to partially stabilize the slope, earning 68.90 points.

The final challenge was Winter Traversal; this task required the rover to traverse difficult terrain and travel to gates at provided GPS coordinates while avoiding obstacles. This challenge pushed the rover’s mobility system to its limits and included a drop of 36 inches. Through careful operation, the rover was successful, reaching five of the seven gates and scoring a whopping 84.72 points.

At the end of all four challenges, the Northeastern Mars Rover Team led the way with a score of 236.71. View the full competition results.

What’s next for the Northeastern Mars Rover Team? The University Rover Challenge, which is held annually in the Utah desert every June. They just submitted their System Acceptance Review video detailing the improvements they’ve made to their rover this year, which you can find on their YouTube channel. Also, you can follow along with the team’s progress on Instagram or LinkedIn.