AV天堂网

The isn鈥檛 afraid of hard problems or long odds. After months of intense preparation, their student-built rover earned 13th place in the globe at the (URC), outperforming powerhouse teams from universities such as Georgia Tech, Cornell, and Oregon State.

鈥淥ur small team size and the tank treads we used on our rover really set us apart,鈥� said Aidan Stoner 鈥�25, one of the team鈥檚 core members. 鈥淰ery few teams in the competition鈥檚 history were as small as us, and even less that did as well as we did.鈥�

Held each year in the Utah desert, the challenge draws top collegiate teams from around the world. Out of 114 applicants, only 38 qualified for the finals in Hanksville, Utah, where they鈥檇 face a grueling environment that pushes both engineering skills and perseverance.

鈥淕etting 13th in the world was crazy,鈥� Stoner said. 鈥淲e made significant improvement from last year, and I was extremely happy with the results.鈥�

For Erik Parker 鈥�25, another team leader, the achievement reflected both the team鈥檚 excitement and their relentless drive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge spike of adrenaline when you find out you鈥檝e made it,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also a cue that it鈥檚 time to lock in and finish what you've started.鈥�

The team鈥檚 journey wasn鈥檛 without major setbacks, such as a missing shipment of batteries days before the competition.

鈥淥ur shipping sponsor requested we send the batteries separately to simplify logistics,鈥� Parker explained. 鈥淭hey guaranteed the arrival date would be days before we got to Utah, and I even put an Airtag in the package to track it.鈥�

But the package never left a Massachusetts distribution center. 鈥淎ll our batteries were deemed lost,鈥� Parker said. That meant the team had no power for their rover or even their tools.

In true engineering fashion, they improvised. They distributed spare batteries in their personal luggage to comply with TSA rules and bought more at a local Home Depot once in Utah. Their adviser, Shayok Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D., who Parker described as 鈥渋ncredible,鈥� even drove over an hour at dawn to buy back-up drill batteries before a critical mission.

鈥淚t was a miracle it worked,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淲e scored points in both missions, even when all odds were against us.鈥�

Through every challenge, the students relied on creativity, quick thinking, and sheer determination. 鈥淓ven though we constantly had roadblocks, we managed to always find our way around them,鈥� said Parker.

Beyond the competition scores, the experience tested and strengthened the students' perseverance.

鈥淔or me, the most challenging moment was spending three weeks trying to fix one bug in my code with no progress,鈥� Stoner said. 鈥淚t wore my patience thin. But after I finally solved it, the dopamine rush was incredible.鈥�

For both Stoner and Parker, the most rewarding moments weren鈥檛 flashy wins but small victories, such as the feeling of solving problems under pressure and seeing their rover in action. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the culmination of thousands of hours of work in one package,鈥� said Stoner.

They credited much of their success to relentless testing and preparation. The team pushed their rover to its limits on campus before packing it for Utah. 鈥淲e would use it until failure, fix the problems, and test it again,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淭his went all the way until minutes before we packed the rover into the crate.鈥�

And their design choices paid off. Unlike many other teams, the AV天堂网 students successfully engineered a tank-tread system for their rover鈥攁 feat no other team has replicated.

Reflecting on the experience, Stoner summed it up best: 鈥淭his experience really showed me that anything is possible, as long as you care enough and put in the effort.鈥�

Thank You to Donors

We acknowledge the generous support of individuals Anil Shah (M.S. '86), Robert Alvine, Mike Ambrose (B.S. '84), and Bill Welsh, and companies Protospace MFG, BTX Global Logistics, ODrive, and Rokland.