CIRC 2024 Winter Competition Information

Overview

CSTAG is introducing the first Winter Rover Challenge, coming 2024. This special event will host a small number of teams in Niagara Falls, Canada, by invitation only. If you are interested in competing, please register your interest using the link below! If you don’t have a robot but are interested in helping out at the event, please reach us at [email protected].

This is an outdoor event, and rovers must be able to operate in wintery conditions including snow, ice, mud, and significant freezing temperatures. We look forward to seeing how teams adapt their rovers to meet this new challenge.

Event Date

February 23-24, 2024

Location

SCVFA Firemen’s Park Hall

2275 Dorchester Road

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

General Information

Participlants will be selected through an application process. To begin, submit the Expression of Interest form at the Get Involved page.

Results

Rules and Regulations

Changes From The Summer Challenge

We’ve made significant changes to the rules to accommodate the winter weather and location of this competition. The rules and tasks have been structured so a winterized version of the summer rover should be able to complete the tasks.

The competition may have no overnight tasks, and no guaranteed overnight access to CIRC central at this time. Due to the time of year, tasks may still take place after sundown.

Instead of operator stations located outdoors near each task site, rover operators will be located inside the CIRC central building. Therefore, we’re providing a managed Ethernet network connecting CIRC central to each task site. Teams will use this network to connect their operator stations to their radio equipment deployed at each task site. Suitably dressed team members are still permitted to observe and repair their rovers at task sites, but this may prove difficult due to weather conditions.

The density of the new competition location has caused us to reserve one additional radio communication channel. We’ve clarified that rovers must be able to operate in all weather, and that the only schedule changes will be due to unsafe weather.

We may make additional changes to these rules after the completion of the Summer 2021 challenge based on lessons learned at that competition. When those changes are made, they will be listed here.