Competition Overview
The University Rover Challenge (URC) is the world's premier robotics competition for college students, challenging teams to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. Hosted annually in the Utah desert, URC simulates the harsh Martian environment where rovers must perform:
- Autonomous navigation across rocky terrain
- Equipment servicing (opening hatches, flipping switches, turning valves)
- Science missions (soil collection, life detection experiments)
- Extreme retrieval & delivery (transporting objects across obstacles)
As a member of Robotics @ Maryland's Terraformers team, I served as Manufacturing Lead, responsible for coordinating the design-for-manufacturing process and overseeing production of all 3D printed and machined components.