Student Robotics Competition (August 2022)

Students involved in the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department’s Precision Agriculture and Automation Club get first-hand experience in problem solving, developing robotic systems, and providing autonomous solutions to existing needs in the agricultural industry and beyond.  

We ask for your support to send the Precision Agriculture and Automation Club to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Meeting’s robotics competition July 17-20 in Houston, Texas.  

Students are currently working to design, assemble, and program an autonomous cotton-picking robot to compete in the annual ASABE Robotics Student Design Competition. This international event challenges students to develop skills in robotic systems, electronics, and sensing technologies by simulating a fully autonomous robotics solution to a common agricultural process.  

Leading up the competition, students will: 

• Brainstorm several robot concepts to complete the challenge posed by ASABE. 
• Perform an engineering alternatives analysis to select the best candidates for participation in the competition. 
• Fabricate, program, test, and refine a robot to prepare it for the competition. 
• Prepare a poster and a video describing the development and function of the robot. 
   

A subset of the team, anywhere from five to seven students depending on the amount of money raised, will then travel to Houston in July to participate in the competition at the 2022 ASABE International Meeting. In addition to competing with the robot, the students will present the team's poster to peers and judges from both industry and academia. The students will also attend academic and professional presentations in agricultural and biological engineering and network with students from other participating universities.  

The team’s participation in the international event will not only expand Cal Poly's reputation for excellence in agricultural and engineering education, but also encourage students to develop their professional networks and broaden their understanding of the agriculture industry.