May is nearly half way through, which means the SparkFun Autonomous Vehicle Competition is just around the corner. That's right - in less than a month (June 8th, 2013), a legion of robots, drones and robotics enthusiasts will descend on the Boulder Reservoir for the 5th annual SparkFun AVC. It's shaping up to be an amazing event, and we are very excited to see what this year's competition will bring!
Today, we wanted to provide a quick update, share a couple videos and get you excited for what has become SparkFun's signature event. First off, check out this video with Jeff and Brian from SparkFun's Department of Education.
ReplaceMeOpen
ReplaceMeClose
Vimeo version can be found here
This video will give you an idea of the type of robots you might see at the AVC, as well as maybe provide some inspiration for your entry for next year's competition. Trust us - there's no such thing as starting too early. Some of products featured in the video are the Rover 5 platform and the SparkFun RedBoard, and here is the electronics board layout mentioned in the video.
The next video was shot by friend of SparkFun Brian Broadbent - he was kind enough to share his aerial footage of the reservoir. The video was shot at the end of winter, so the reservoir will certainly be much less "moon-like" in June.
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Vimeo version is here
For those of you unfamiliar with the AVC, this event is a DIY robotics event where land and aerial vehicles navigate a predefined course without human interference - hence the "autonomous" part. We have over 50 entries and are expecting around 1000 spectators, so it should be an awesome day. In addition to the robotics competition, there will be food vendors and other entertainment!
Competitor registration is officially closed, but if you want to attend as a spectator, please take a moment to register. This will help us plan last minute logistics. If you need a place to say, the Marriott in Longmont has helped us out with a discount rate - follow this link to take advantage of the discount, but know that rooms are limited! If you'd rather stay in Boulder, we recommend the Boulder Inn.
Last, but not least, we typically have an informal gathering at The Dark Horse bar/restaurant following the event - consider this a not-at-all-formal invitation to stop by, have a pint and talk robotics.
We hope you'll join us for AVC 2013!
This is the single most important event of the year! There is no good reason not to be there, as either a competitor or a spectator!
Oh... I can come up with a few good reason to not be there...
Personally, being over 2,500km away is a good enough reason. SFE: Can you scale this up next year? UAVs with a route over, say, Southern Canada? Bring Your Own Predator?
Would love to see an autonomous boat competition next year... :)
shouldn't food "venders" be "vendors"? sorry if i come off as a grammar Nazi...
Think that would be classed as orthography rather than grammar.
The next video was shot by friend of SparkFun Brian Broadbent – he was kind enough to share his aerial footage of the reservoir. The video was shot at the end of winter, so the reservoir will certainly be much less “moon-like” in June.
I thought the end of winter in Boulder was in July. :-)