2018 Canadian International Rover Challenge – CIRC

Header Image – Our team at CIRC Protocase Central (Credit: Angela Howell)

Our team had a great showing at the second annual Canadian International Rover Challenge.

Our team only had 55 days between returning from the University Rover Challenge in Utah and leaving for CIRC in Drumheller. In this time we had to modify our rover to operate in the two new tasks at CIRC, the resource extraction and night search and rescue tasks.

University of Saskatchewan Mars Rover finds a Kitten durring a Night Search and Rescue mission in Rosedale, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
Finding Intelligent (and cute) life on “Mars” during the Search and Rescue Task (Credit: Danno Peters)
Mars Rover with Front End Loader Attachment installed in Drumheller Alberta
Our 2018 Mars Rover after the CIRC Resource Extraction Task (Credit: Danno Peters)
Our team built a linear actuator driven front end loader attachment for our rover. Our loader had integrated load cells, allowing us to weigh our payload to approximately +/- 5 grams.

Our search and rescue modifications included a custom student built 360-degree infrared camera; high power LED lights, a yagi antenna to track an emergency radio beacon, and a holster to carry oxygen tanks, space suit repair kits, a light beacons.

Our rover came in second in the Search and Rescue task and fifth overall in the Canadian International Rover Challenge. We had a wonderful lime competing and getting to know the other rover teams from across the globe.