Southfield, Mich. – A team of students studying computer science, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering at Lawrence Technological University finished second in the autonomous challenge, the main event of the 16th annual Intelligent Group Vehicle Competition (IGVC) held at Oakland University May 30 to June 2.

Forty-seven teams from 39 universities designed and built model vehicles that navigated obstacle courses without human guidance using computer vision and complex computer programming. The University of Detroit Mercy won the grand prize in the competition, and the University of Michigan Dearborn was second overall.

Lawrence Tech won the second-place prize of $2,500 in the autonomous challenge with the Viper, a vehicle designed, built and programmed from scratch this year. First place was claimed by Bluefield State College of West Virginia.

“It was a tremendous accomplishment to do so well with a vehicle that had been developed from scratch,” said Lawrence Tech Associate Professor CJ Chung, the team’s faculty advisor.

Lawrence Tech and Hosei University of Japan were the only recipients of the Level 3 cash prize of $500 in Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS).

The purpose of the competition is to promote the development of automated and intelligent vehicles that can have both civilian and military applications. Sponsors include the Microsoft Robotics, General Motors Corp., Raytheon, the Department of Defense, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Joint Center for Robotics associated with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).

For more information about the Lawrence Tech team, go to ltu164.ltu.edu/igvc/.

Lawrence Technological University, ltu.edu, offers over 80 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management. Founded in 1932, the 4,500-student, private university pioneered evening classes 75 years ago, and today has a growing number of weekend and online programs. Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus is in Southfield, with education centers in Lansing, Livonia, Clinton Township, Traverse City and Petoskey. Lawrence Tech also offers programs with partner universities in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.