- Wins first place in the Autonomous Driving Challenge at the world’s largest robotics academic conference

▲ Photo: SNU Vehicle Intelligence Research Team

Seoul National University College of Engineering has announced that the Vehicle Intelligence Research Team, led by Professor Seung-Woo Seo from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, won first place in the inaugural “Earth Rovers Challenge” held at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems 2024 (IROS 2024), the world’s largest robotics conference.

IROS, jointly organized annually by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ), is one of the two major global academic conferences in the field of robotics. This year’s conference took place from October 14 to 18 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The “Earth Rovers Challenge” robotics competition, held over two days starting from October 16, featured two categories: AI-based autonomous driving and remote control.

Professor Seo’s team participated in the AI-based autonomous driving category, where the goal was to remotely control mobile robots deployed in more than eight countries, including China, Kenya, Singapore, and the UAE, and complete navigation tasks to successfully reach the destination. The challenge required operating in various environments, such as urban areas, rural settings, and both outdoor and indoor spaces, under both daytime and nighttime conditions. Teams had to ensure the robot responded appropriately to unpredictable situations to achieve safe and accurate navigation, securing high scores.

Notably, the competition used robots priced around $200 (approximately KRW 270,000), significantly more affordable than typical robots that cost between $20,000 and $30,000 (approximately between KRW 27,000,000 and 41,000,000). These robots, equipped with low-resolution sensors providing limited and inaccurate data, increased the technical difficulty for the participating teams.

The teams from world-renowned universities, such as the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), and the National University of Singapore (NUS), participated in the challenge, showcasing their unique technical capabilities and creative approaches in fierce competition for the top spot. Among them, Seoul National University's Vehicle Intelligence Research Team applied the expertise they had accumulated in the field of autonomous driving. By adopting a strategy of optimizing the performance of their driving algorithm for each specific scenario, they achieved first place with the highest score. In particular, the team’s development of a technique that combined various mathematical methods with deep learning models allowed their robot to adapt flexibly to unforeseen obstacles and complex situations, which was a key factor in securing their victory.

Professor Seung-Woo Seo, who led the team to victory, stated, “The significance of this award extends beyond personal honor, as it demonstrates Seoul National University’s leadership in the field of remote-control-based autonomous driving technologies.” He added, “We will continue to pursue technological innovation and lead the development of even higher-level autonomous driving technologies in the future.”

An official from IROS 2024 remarked, "The Seoul National University team's technological prowess and passion, which led them to victory in the Earth Rovers Challenge against formidable competitors, are at the world's highest level." The official also revealed, "Next year's competition will expand significantly, with more robots from a greater number of countries, scaling up to over ten times the number of robots used in this year's event."

Meanwhile, Hyungseok Yoon, a doctoral student from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the leader of the Vehicle Intelligence Research Team, developed the robot driving control algorithm while coordinating the development of various modules by his teammates. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under Professor Seo and plans to launch a startup focused on autonomous driving robots after graduation.

▲ Photo: Professor Seung-Woo Seo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University

[Contact Information]
Professor Seung-Woo Seo, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University
+82-2-880-8418 / sseo@snu.ac.kr