The 1st Annual ION Mini-Urban Challenge
National Competition held at Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Regional Competitions held throughout the US

Sponsored by the ION and AFRL

2009 Competition Results:

National Competition, May 28, 2009
Tec^Edge Works, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH

Florida Regional Competition, May 9, 2009
Air Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida

Ohio Regional Competition, May 16, 2009
Tec^Edge Works, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH

2009 Competition Announced
The Institute of Navigation (ION) announces the 1st Annual Mini-Urban Challenge sponsored by the ION and AFRL.

The purpose of this competition is to challenge high school students to design and operate a robotic unmanned car built from a LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® kit that can accurately navigate through a LEGO^® city.

Regional Competitions will be held in May 2009 at the following locations:

• Ohio Competition: Wright Patterson AFB
• Florida Competition: Eglin AFB

The top winners from each Regional Competition will be invited to compete in the National Competition.  The National Competition will be held in conjunction with the Sixth Annual Robotic Lawn Mower Competition in Dayton, OH (dates TBD).

For further details, including the competition itinerary, view the Rulebook.

March 27, 2009: New Rulebook posted
An updated rulebook has been posted. Please download Version 2008.1.4 for the most up to date information about the competition. 

In addition, check out the new page explaining the construction of the LEGO city in more detail.

October 10, 2008: Mini-Urban Challenge
Weaving together ideas from the DARPA Grand Challenge automated car race and the Institute of Navigation’s (ION) own Robotic Lawn Mower Competition, Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Munitions Directorate and the Institute of Navigation announces the First Annual Mini-Urban Challenge.

The purpose of this competition is to challenge high school students to work in teams of 3-10 to design and operate a robotic unmanned car built from a Lego Mindstorms NXT kit that can accurately navigate through a Lego city

A paper was presented at ION GNSS 2008’s Novel Applications session by two of the Mini-Urban Challenge’s organizers — 1Lt Casey Miller, AFRL/RYE, and 2dLt Caroline New AFRL/RWGN. The co-organizers also had the opportunity to meet with many potential sponsors and show off their sample LEGO city

For detailed information on the Mini-Urban Challenge, contact 2dLt Caroline New, phone 850-882-0673, e-mail caroline.new@eglin.af.mil