MORGANTOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia University’s Team Mountaineers has once again proven itself among the world’s top collegiate robotics teams, securing second place in the prestigious University Rover Challenge (URC) held at the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah.
The international competition drew 114 teams from 15 countries, with 39 teams from 10 countries advancing to the finals.
The WVU team’s impressive finish continues a strong tradition of excellence, with the Mountaineers placing in the top two for the last three years, including a first-place win in 2023.
Guided by faculty advisor Yu Gu, a distinguished alumni professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, the team entered this year’s competition with a bold new strategy.
“With over a decade of growth and continued success, the robotic competition teams at WVU have become magnets for passionate and talented students to make friends, share ideas, and work on cool projects together,” Gu said.
“This year, under the outstanding leadership of Connor and Jalen, the students represented WVU well against teams from around the world. Students on the team overcame numerous challenges during this week, but stayed calm, helped each other, and solved problems as they arose. This real-world engineering experience is what makes robotics competition an invaluable educational experience for students.”
The interdisciplinary team was led by CEO Connor Mann and Chief Technology Officer Jalen Beeman, and included students from both the Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering Department and the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering: Sam Blair, Daniel McDonald, Garrett Schuehler, Elijah Motter, Sam Moody, Connor Herfurth, Matthew Knospe, Bill Streck, and Izaak Whetsell.
“The most rewarding part was seeing our hard work and dedication pay off when stacked against the best in the world,” Beeman said.
“Robotics is hard, so we’ve also been trying to lower the barrier for entry to the competition by open-sourcing our designs. At the competition, we had the chance to speak to several teams that used our designs which was very rewarding.”
The URC challenges teams to develop rovers capable of performing four missions: Science, Delivery, Equipment Servicing and Autonomous Navigation.
WVU’s rover showed strong performance across the board, including a 20% increase in speed over last year’s model.
In the Science Mission, the team tied with Missouri University of Science and Technology—this year’s overall champion—with a score of 96 for analyzing soil samples for signs of microbial life.
WVU also took first place in the Delivery Mission by showcasing precise navigation and a significantly enhanced rover arm capable of handling rugged terrain.
Despite experiencing communication issues during the Equipment Servicing Mission, the team successfully completed complex mechanical tasks and placed in the top ten overall.
In the final mission, Autonomous Navigation, the rover performed above expectations, earning the second-highest score.
“Prior to competing, our biggest challenge was reconstructing and testing the rover upon arrival in Utah,” Mann said. “The Delivery mission went very well for us this year with all systems performing as anticipated. For the Autonomous Navigation mission the system performed above expectation, placing us second overall for the mission.”
As Team Mountaineers continues to build on its legacy of innovation and collaboration, its members remain dedicated to advancing the field of robotics and mentoring future engineers.
To learn more about Team Mountaineers and their work, visit https://urc.orgs.wvu.edu/.
