WVU robotics team wins 2nd place in international competition

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) – The Mountaineer Robotics Team has been awarded second place in the 2024 International Mars Rover Competition.

The competition took place this past weekend at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. It began with 102 teams and was quickly culled to 38 finalists from 10 countries around the world.

The competition consisted of four different missions.

The West Virginia University team placed second in both the science mission and the autonomous navigation mission, according to university officials. They also placed third and fourth in the equipment servicing mission and the delivery mission respectively.

A total of 11 WVU students competed in this year’s final competition displaying a range of disciplines including computer science and electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“Following our victory in the 2023 URC competition, Team Mountaineers open-sourced the robot designs to assist new teams worldwide in entering the competition. This year, over 70 students on Team Mountaineers developed a new rover design, with innovations ranging from the drive train to the science payload,” mechanical, materials and aerospace professor and faculty advisor Yu Gu explained. “The students who traveled to Utah for the final competition are leaders in their respective areas, showcasing remarkable technical skills, teamwork and sound judgment under extreme pressure. The team proudly represented WVU, continuing a decade-long stride of Team Mountaineers as an international leader in robotic competitions.”

Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering department students Robert Cook, Connor Mann, and Alan Hongpaisan worked alongside Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering students Nick Beaton, Owen Darden, Jalen Beeman, Nathan Adkins, Michael McCarron, Emily O’Haire, led by the team’s Chief Technology Officer Riley McAllister and CEO Kendra Gillo.

Prospective students can learn more about the robotics program at WVU by visiting https://robotics.wvu.edu/ and https://www.statler.wvu.edu/academics/robotics.

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