The first Virtual RobotX (VRX) Competition took place in 2019. Starting the competition with 17 teams representing Asia, Australia and the United States of America, with 11 teams competing in the final phase. The VRX competition is an international, university-level competition designed to broaden student’s exposure to autonomy and maritime robotic technologies. Student teams operate their vehicle in a Gazebo-based simulation environment built by Open Robotics and Naval Postgraduate School. Students are tasked to develop innovative solutions to ensure their virtual USV can perform prescribed tasks in this environment.
Final Standings
1st Place (RobotX Challenge Voucher): Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
2nd Place (RobotX Challenge Voucher): Georgia Institute of Technology
3rd Place (RobotX Challenge Voucher): The University of Sydney
4th Place (RobotX Challenge Voucher): National University of Singapore
5th Place (RobotX Challenge Voucher): University of Florida
TIED – 6th Place (2020 RobotX Challenge Task Credit): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Flinders University, Florida Atlantic University, McGill University, National Taiwan University, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Task Standings
Task #1: Station Keeping
Goal: Maintain position and heading in the presence of environmental forcing (wind and waves).
1st Place: University of Florida
2nd Place: KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
3rd Place: The University of Sydney
Task #2: Wayfinding
Goal: Achieve a series of given goal states, specified as a series of location/heading values.
1st Place: KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
2nd Place: Georgia Institute of Technology
3rd Place: National University of Singapore
Task #3: Perception
Goal: Identify and localize RobotX objects.
1st Place: KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
2nd Place: Georgia Institute of Technology
3rd Place: National University of Singapore
Task #4: Navigation Course
Goal: Create a motion plan to traverse a navigation challenge specified by red and green markers.
1st Place: Georgia Institute of Technology
2nd Place: The University of Sydney
3rd Place: KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
Task #5: Dock
Goal: Given multiple docking bays, decide on the appropriate bay for docking, and then, exit.
1st Place: National University of Singapore
2nd Place: KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
3rd Place: The University of Sydney
Task #6: Scan and Dock
Goal: Given multiple docking bays, decide on the appropriate bay for docking, and then, exit.
1st Place: Georgia Institute of Technology
2nd Place: The University of Sydney
3rd Place: National University of Singapore
Special Mentions
“Early Bird”: National University of Singapore
“Just in time delivery“: McGill University (Submitted at 23:58!)
“Open-source love”: Flinders University & University of Florida
“Best simulation shim”: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
“White Hat“: Georgia Institute of Technology
