past events

2019 Ninth Annual Competition

Our ninth year of the competition was a very special year for the competition. We were invited by Sidewalk Labs to hold a demonstration event at their facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Eight teams from the United States made this journey. And the event was a big success! Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2018 Eighth Annual Competition

Our eighth year of the competition was one of our best yet for the competition. We again had our largest number of teams applied. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2017 Seventh Annual Competition

Our seventh year of the competition was great year for the competition. Once again, it was our largest number of teams so far. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2016 Sixth Annual Competition

Our sixth year of the competition was another year of growing. Our largest number of teams so far, along with another international team from Canada, all did exceedingly well. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2015 Fifth Annual Competition

Our fourth year of the competition was our first international competitor year (from Canada). All teams performed great during this event. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2014 Fourth Annual Competition

Our fourth year of the competition was another very successful year. Another large number of teams performed quite well during this event. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2013 Third Annual Competition

Our third year of the competition was a significant success. Many teams performed very well during this event. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2012 Second Annual Competition

Our second year of the competition went really well, with very keen competition. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2011 First Annual Competition

We had a fantastic first year of this annual event. Please see the Previous Event Results page for a full summary of the event, winners, and all competition activities.

2010 Promotional Display

We had a great static display and promotion at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival on January 23-24, 2010. We had displays of past ION competitions, autonomous vehicles, and future competition materials.

Along with several ION members, we had several other groups involved:

•Billy Gruber of Hitching Post Motorsports brought an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with snowplow to show Carnival attendees options for snow vehicles.
•Several members of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation provided support of our event.
•To support our display, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority brought their new city bus to the event. This new bus features driver-assisted cues, heads-up display, and real-time on-board navigation.

Please view photos from this past event below

2010 Autonomous Snowplow Competition Static Display

2010 Snowfield Testing

During the winter of 2010, we completed some testing of operating a snowplow in our proposed competition snowfield. These tests were conducted on an area lake with an ice surface and several snowfield forms were filled with snow. An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) driver with a straight plow ran several tests on the snowfields.

A video and summary are provided below for competitors to consider when designing their autonomous snowplow.

Snowplow Testing Video (2010)

Fun!!!

Here is a set of interesting related videos and pictures of robotic snowplows:

Fun and Interesting!!