The National Robotics Festival took place from April 29 to May 1, at Europarque, in Santa Maria da Feira, after two years of stoppage, with teams from all over the country in several competitions. The Automation and Robotics Lab (LAR) from UMinho’s School of Engineering participated in the Autonomous Driving league with two teams, “Formula ONE” and “Formula TWO”, reaching 2nd and 3rd place. Students of Industrial Electronics Engineering and Mechatronics participated: Tiago Ribeiro, Marco Luís, António Ribeiro, Rúben Silva, Inês Ribeiro, José Carlos Martins, Rui Lima, Bruno Silva, Joel Costa, Eduardo Fernandes.

The competition consisted of the robot (in the shape of a car) making two laps around a 12-meter long track autonomously and in the shortest time. In addition, the car had to recognize traffic signs, construction zones, park itself, and avoid obstacles, among others. Both teams used classic programming solutions and artificial intelligence, and one of the cars completed the race with just this solution. The race had four races in the three days of competition. The students worked very hard in the six weeks before the event and dedicated the three days (and some nights) of the event to programming and calibrating parameters. “The students are to be congratulated for the good image they (once again) left of UMinho”, said professor and LAR coordinator Fernando Ribeiro.

+Info: www.eng.uminho.pt, www.dei.uminho.pt, lar.dei.uminho.pt

www.festivalnacionalrobotica.pt/competicoes/conducao-autonoma-10