University of West Florida

Welcome

The University of West Florida Robotics Laboratory is the proud home of an award-winning Automonous Water Vehicle team and Unmanned Aerial Systems team. The Robotics Laboratory is part of the School of Science and Engineering. This department is active in undergraduate engineering research in partnership with local businesses, other universities, and government agencies.

Engineering students at the Pensacola or Emerald Coast campuses interested in joining the Water AUV Team, Air UAS Team, Tour Robot Team, Ground UGS Team or Space Satillite project should contact Robotics department. These robotics projects are open to Non-engineering students and high school students interested in contributing to the various robotics teams or studying robotics. If you are interested in a challenge contact the Robotics department.

UWF robotics teams are active in many competitions on the ground, water, air and space. Come join the UWF Robotics Laboratory-- access some of the most advanced equipment the engineering department has to offer, obtain valuable hands-on experience, and gain face time with potential businesses looking to hire tomorrow's engineers.

Autonomous Water Vehicles

The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, (AUV), team started with its first underwater vessel (submarine) in 2003, with the intent of competing in the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) competition. Remarkably, this submarine team performed well in its first competition by beating out several well-established teams and placing in the top five.

Since then, new teams with innovative designs have emerged to meet the ever-changing requirements presented by the annual AUVSI competition. Thanks to the tenacity of the submarine teams, assistance from alumni members, and partnerships with local business.

The team is working hard to again make the AUVSI AUV competition this year and would like to expand into unmanned surface water vehicles.

Unmanned Aerial Systems

The UAS team started with its first UAS in the fall of 2004, with the proof-of-concept remotely piloted vehicle, the Wobblin' Goblin. The Wobblin Goblin met an untimely death when a wing strut broke however in fall of 2005, Project Phoenix was born from the ashes of the Wobblin' Goblin as a semi-autonomous UAS.

Starting in 2006, the success of Project Phoenix led to the development of the Phoenix II UAS project to continue the development of aerial robotics at UWF. The Phoenix II team placed 11th in the 2007 AUVSI UAS competition.

The now Phoenix III hopes to place in the top 5 in the AUVSI UAS 2008 competition. If they make there top 5 goal they would like to develop a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV).

Unmanned Ground Systems

Association for Unmanned Systems International (AUVSI) holds various Unmanned Ground Vehicle Competitions (UGV) around the country to test the ingenuity of today's engineering students. This is the next challenge UWF plans to enter. The robots we create can navigate mazes, negotiate obstacles, identify colors, move objects, and execute a multitude of pre-programmed routines.

The teams travel to various universities around the country for competitions. If you would like to be a part of one of these teams, contact the Robotics department.

 

Unmanned Space Systems

Under Construction.

Tour Robot Project

The tour robot project ( Project Avral) will guide visitors though the new Science and Engineering building. This will be an interactive robot that will have control of various items in the building as it presents information about the science and engineering activities in the building to visitors. This is a joint project between ECE and the CS departments. The scheduled completion date is August 2009.

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