Smith Undergrads Compete in RoboNation Competition

Designing, building and racing autonomous robotic submarines is not your usual summer activity for business majors, but two undergraduates did exactly that as they proudly represented the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business last week in San Diego, Calif. Teams from the U.S. and around the world (Russia, India, China, Japan, to name a few) competed in RoboNation's International RoboSub Competition, July 24-30, 2017.

The Smith School co-sponsored the Maryland Robotics team, along with UMDs’ A. James Clark School of Engineering. The two business majors on the team were: John Rogers, a junior information systems major, and Jackie Tran, a senior information systems and supply chain management double major.

Since 2002, the event has been held each summer at the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific's TRANSDEC Anechoic Pool in San Diego. According to RoboNation’s website, the event challenges students to “complete a difficult series of visual- and acoustic-based tasks in this international competition. These tasks simulate the work required of robotic subs in many facets of underwater activity.” 

Although they did not win, Rogers said the UMD team worked very hard on “Qubo” (the UMD robot), pulling several all-nighters and made it into the qualifying round for the semi-finals.

- Claudia Donnelley, Smith Undergraduate Program

Photos by John Rogers, Treasurer, UMD’s Robotics Team