Oakland University hosts 32nd Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition

The 32^nd Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), an annual event where collegiate robotics teams from around the world compete in a variety of unmanned mobility obstacle courses, took place from May 30 – June 2 at Oakland University.

The four-day event challenges teams to build and operate autonomous vehicles on an outdoor course with defined lanes, GPS waypoints and obstacles. The competition incorporates Artificial Intelligence and robotics, while introducing students to the challenges of engineering those technologies for military and civilian settings.

“The IGVC challenges university students to work with technologies related to active safety and self-driving vehicles, which is highly relevant today,” said Oakland Engineering Professor Ka C Cheok, who co-founded the IGVC in 1993. “It exposes them to engineering teamwork beyond the classroom. We hear from previous IGVC sponsors and participants that employers often prefer to hire applicants with such practical experience.”

During the competition, each team participates in a series of challenges, including:

• The Auto-Nav Challenge, which consists of an outdoor obstacle course that requires the UGVs to perform full autonomous operation/navigation throughout. Competitors can encounter natural or artificial inclines (ramps) and randomly placed obstacles along the course, such as construction barrels/drums that are used on roadways and highways.

• The Design Competition, which challenges students to document their vehicle development by creating a design report, followed by an in-person presentation to the design judges during the actual IGVC event, including a vehicle examination by the judges.

• The Self-Drive Challenge, which requires vehicles to perform road operations including lane keeping, lane switch, merging, avoiding crossing obstacles (simulated pedestrians/vehicles), taxi pickup of passengers, simulated pothole detection, stop and crosswalk lines detection, right/left turn and intersection detection/logic, navigation to GPS waypoints and autonomous parking.

This year, 29 teams from seven countries — including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Turkey, India and Egypt — participated in the event.

“There’s really nothing else like it in the world,” said Gerald Lane, IGVC co-founder and president of Great Lakes Systems & Technology LLC.

OU was represented by the Smart Vehicle Club and the Oakland Robotics Association

During the competition, Oakland University was represented by the Smart Vehicle Club (SVC) and the Oakland Robotics Association (ORA). The SVC participated in the Self-Drive Challenge, while the ORA competed in the Auto-Nav Challenge.

“The IGVC 2025 highlights the outstanding talent and innovation fostered at Oakland University,” said Dr. Louay Chamra, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Oakland University. “Our Smart Vehicle Club and Oakland Robotics Association students exemplify teamwork, creativity, and technical excellence. I'm proud of their efforts and excited to see their continued success."

The 33^rd IGVC competition will take place from May 29 – June 1, 2026 on the campus of Oakland University.

For more information, visit www.IGVC.org.

IGVC 2024 Full Results:

Auto-Nav Challenge:

University of Oklahoma (United States)

Team: Twistopher

Self-Drive Challenge:

Hosei University (Japan)

Team: Orange2025

Design Challenge:

Monash University (Australia)

Team: ESDA - Asterius

Rookie of the Year:

Texas A&M University, Kingsville (United States)

Team: Robohog

Thanks to those who make the IGVC possible:

Organizing Committee: Andrew Kosinski, Jerry Lane, Osamah Rawashdeh, Bernard Theisen, and Ka C Cheok (Emeritus)

Organizing Committee Hosts: Oakland University School of Engineering and Computer Science, DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Great Lakes Systems & Technology LLC, AUVSI Great Lakes

Sponsors: RoboNation, National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Michigan Chapter, MOBIS North America, Magna International, BAE Systems, Dataspeed Inc., Oshkosh, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation