OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2014. Oleg Deripaska foundation Volnoe Delo and GAZ Group, supported by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), have held a competition of automated means of transport RoboCross-2014. Competition of robotized vehicles was held in Nizhniy Novgorod in the proving grounds of GAZ Group.

For the first time in RoboCross-2014 competed not only land vehicles, but also flying unpiloted systems. Winners of the competition will have a chance to take part in the European robotics tests ElRob in 2015.

Field tests of robo-vehicles RoboCross were held for the fifth time within the framework of the program called Robotics: Engineering and Technical Staff of Innovative Russia, implemented by Oleg Deripaska foundation Volnoe Delo in active support of GAZ Group, being part of the Basic Element – one of the largest in Russia diversified industrial groups. Jury of the competition consisted of development engineers of GAZ Group.

Ten student teams from Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Ryazan and Kovrov competed in the RoboCross-2014, including: Red Eyes (State Techniological Academy of Kovrov and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute Signal); Avrora, LOOK and LK (State Radio-Technical University of Ryazan), Volga (Lobachevsky State University of Nizhniy Novgorod), BaumanCar (Bauman Moscow State Technical UNiversity) and others.

The majority of the teams have more than once taken part in RoboCross with Gazelle vehicles granted by the Gorky Automobile Plant of GAZ Group – the most active participant of the Robotics program. Students teams,  technically and theoretically supported by development engineers of GAZ Group and the resource center of Robotics program, prepared vehicles for competition equipping them with automatic steering system.

In the course of the competition at especially prepared proving grounds robotics engineers have shown capability of the vehicles to perform a set of exercises on land an in the air guided by GLONASS, on their own – in fully-automatic or telemetry mode. During the competition they simulated a real situation when an unpiloted vehicle in standalone mode should go through a track with obstructions, perform turns and maneuvers.

During the event days of RoboCross-2014the students saw the exhibition of new GAZ Group products, participated in the test-drive of all-wheel-drive Sobol LCV and visited the production sites of the Gorky Automobile Plant  (United Engineering Center, Gazelle NEXT production line, Eisenmann painting facility, foreign OEMs production sites).