F1TENTH is an autonomous robotics competition in which teams compete by developing self-driving algorithms for a one-tenth scale autonomous racecar. Since teams use the same cars, the competition is centered around optimizing these algorithms to navigate around a randomized racetrack in minimum time. In partnership with UCSC’s Cyber-Physical Systems Research Center, Slugbotics members in the F1TENTH competition apply technologies such as LIDAR/SLAM, ROS, Rviz, and Gazebo to develop their car.
To prepare for competition students learn about ROS through interactive labs which primes them for learning about the perception, planning and control of the car. Using that knowledge, members develop complex algorithms that take advantage of the various sensors available to reliably race around a given track. Competitions take place around the world, where teams compete in time trials to qualify and seed for the Grand Prix where the vehicles are pit against each other in head to head battles.
Through participating in F1TENTH, students will gain experience with tools that are fundamental to the robotics and autonomous sensing industries, such as ROS and Gazebo, and discover the mathematical underpinnings behind these technologies. Further, members can delve deeper into core autonomous systems concepts such as perception through sensors, path planning, autonomous navigation, control systems, robotics simulation, and applying simulation to hardware projects.