Smart Delivery: Polytechnic University Hosts Robot Courier Development Hackathon

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

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The Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University successfully held the "REcathon: Clean Code" engineering and robotics hackathon, bringing together 10 student teams. The hackathon was the second stage of the REcathon series. which began in May with the "Draft Code" event, where participants and organizers tested the tasks and made the necessary improvements to the work with robotic systems.

The event was organized by the Higher School of Automation and Robotics of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport with the support of partner companies Altetech LLC and Ingriatech LLC, as well as with the active participation of PROF.IMMiT and the student engineering association PoliRoboTech.

At the hackathon's opening, Pavel Kovalev, Deputy Director for Educational Activities at the Institute of Mathematics and Information Technologies, and Olga Matsko, Director of the Higher School of Architecture and R&D, delivered welcoming remarks. They wished the participants success, a creative approach to problem solving, and productive teamwork, noting the importance of continuity between the two hackathons.

Participants solved advanced complex problems, united by the legend of a robot courier who must deliver a hot pizza while simultaneously monitoring road conditions and ensuring pedestrian safety. The competition was held in a hybrid format, combining theoretical development and practical implementation.

During the practical phase, teams programmed autonomous robots for movement in urban-like conditions: autonomous line navigation using an array of IR sensors, reading road markings, and adhering to traffic regulations. In the theoretical assignment, students were required to develop a concept for a swarm control system for unmanned boats, operating solely on visual information in radio silence.

The teams' results were assessed by a jury consisting of teachers from the Higher School of Automation and Robotics.

The team Error404: Bots Not Found, consisting of Egor Meshkov, Vladimir Yulik, Sofia Sokolova, Amir Sharif'yanov, and Elizaveta Skornyakova, won the hackathon. All winners are fourth-year students at the HSE. The results of the hackathon confirmed the excellent preparation of IMMiT students for solving complex engineering problems in robotics and automation.

"The competition was very intense and presented us with a challenge on two fronts," shared team captain Yegor Meshkov. "In the practical round, we programmed autonomous robot movement in an urban environment, and in the theoretical round, we developed a swarm control system for boats. Both stages were an excellent test of our knowledge, and we're pleased to have achieved a solid result."

"Registration has closed very quickly since we launched it several times, as the maximum number of teams has been recruited well before the announced closing date. "This means the event is very popular among our students; they're interested in this format, which means it makes sense to continue and develop this program. This is very encouraging," said Vladislav Krokhmal, responsible for youth policy and alumni relations at IMMiT.

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