Khalifa University slates robotics competition for March

Khalifa University has revealed that the inaugural Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi from March 16-18.

The competition will feature three challenges and a grand challenge. The challenges include using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to locate, track and land on a moving vehicle; using an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to find a panel and operate a valve stem on it; and using a team of UAVs to search, locate, track, pick and place a set of static and moving objects. The grand challenge involves using both types of vehicles and brings together all of the three challenges.

More than 30 teams from top universities and organizations around the globe will participate in the first MBZIRC. Among those that will be represented are King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, University of Madrid, University of Catania, University of Aachen and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“This will be a hard challenge,” Khalifa University Executive VP Arif Al Hammadi said. "It will require the teams to not only utilize most known robotics technology, but also invent new ones. Undoubtedly, the resulting technologies from this competition will drive robotics research for some time and, as a university dedicated to the advancement of research and development in engineering and technology, we are eager to see what the results are."