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Call for entries: Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC)
The Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) is an international robotics competition held every two years, drawing participation from universities, research institutions, companies and individual innovators from around the world to develop solutions to some of the pressing global challenges through the application of autonomous robotics.
The competition is organised by ASPIRE, the technology programme management pillar of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), Abu Dhabi. The upcoming edition, the MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge, will be hosted in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, in June 2023.
With a prize purse of over US $ 3 million, the challenge will involve a heterogeneous collaboration among unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles to perform complex navigation and manipulation tasks in a GNSS-denied environment. The aim is to push the boundaries of autonomous systems to find a practical solution to maritime-security challenges facing the world.
At the heart of MBZIRC lies the belief that unmanned systems have the potential to create an impact that is as transformative as the internet.
By providing an environment to foster innovation and technical excellence in robotics, MBZIRC supports the UAE’s transition to a knowledge economy while consolidating Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s position as an emerging hub of innovation in advanced technology.
The competition is held in three phases. In the white paper phase, each participating team is required to submit a white paper by 31 January 2022, describing the team; the background in swarm robotics; computer vision; simultaneous localisation and mapping; marine vehicle expertise, communications capabilities, and the technical approach to be used in solving the Challenge.
In the simulation phase, the participating teams will be required to complete inspection and intervention tasks in simulation. In August 2022, this phase will see the shortlisting of the five finalist teams.
In the demonstration phase that takes in June 2023, teams will prove their system capabilities.
For more information visit https://www.mbzirc.com
