Rules and Regulations

  1. Team must submit Participant Roster by September 27, 2025.
  2. The team must submit Technical Design Report by April 4, 2026, at midnight.
  3. The team must pass the safety inspection and check-in before putting LPV in water.
  4. The teams will comply with all rules provided in the competition.
  5. Point bonuses will be awarded for full autonomous LPVs during the competition. Partial points will be provided if remote or human intervention is required during the competition.
  6. The team must be able to remotely pilot boat in emergency situations to return boat to shore.
  7. Competition Vehicle Design
    1. The team may integrate all or portions of the given sensor suite to the LPV  along with any additions they deem necessary to complete the task.
    2. Teams MAY use the provided LPV hull as a base platform.
    3. The team’s competition LPV hull may be:     
      1. Used “as-is” from the originally provided hull,     
      2. Teams MAY use the provided LPV hull as a base platform.     
      3. Fully NEW Design & Construct (The materials from the original hull may but are NOT required to be used in any form as part of any reconstruction.)
    4. All expenses associated with hull redesign, modification, or reconstruction are considered part of the team’s budget limitations.
    5. The team is required to designate a “Primary” competition vessel which must meet the following minimum design requirements:
      1. Dimensional Envelope – The vessel must not exceed the overall envelope dimensions of the originally provided hull.  This is to be considered a “cubic” measurement of X-Y-Z.
        1. Length Overall (LOA) being the total length from bow (front) to stern (rear), must NOT exceed 144 inches or 12 feet
        2. Beam, which is the maximum width, must NOT exceed 40 inches
        3. Overall Height, which is the combined total of Freeboard and Draft, must not exceed 16 inches. Draft is the measurement from the waterline to the keel (bottom) of the vessel.
        4. The Freeboard, which is measured from the “deck” of the vessel to the water line, must be measured at 5-7 inches at the beginning of the competition.  This is defined by the “orange” line on the originally provided hull.
    6. Payload Capacity – The vessel must support a minimum payload of 250 lbs
    7. Multi-Vessel Configurations
      1. Teams may choose to design and deploy multiple unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and/or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
      2. Envelope Limitations: The combined footprint of all USVs, when deployed together, must not exceed an envelope of 3 times the size of the original LPV hull, as defined in the Dimension Envelope.
      3. Number of Vessels: There is no limit to the number of USVs or UAVs a team may deploy, provided they comply with envelope, safety, and budgetary restrictions.
      4. Start Condition: At the start of the competition, all USVs and UAVs must be coupled, docked, or physically touching the primary LPV. This configuration will be referred to as the “marsupial vessel.”
    8. USV-UAV Deployment & Recovery:
      1. Once deployed, USVs may operate independently but must all reconvene before course completion.
      2. Reconvening does not require the USVs to connected or to be touching but requires the multiple vessels to reorganize in the finishing position as a group.
    9. USV-UAV Operations & Safety:
      1. Once deployed, USVs may operate independently but must all reconvene before course completion.
      2. Reconvening does not require the USVs to connected or to be touching but requires the multiple vessels to reorganize in the finishing position as a group.
        1. On a specified competition target, or
        2. Returning to the primary LPV.
        3. UAVs NOT landing on one of these designated locations WILL result in point deductions or disqualifications.  The intent of UAV use in the competition is not attritable or kamikaze in nature
      3. All USVs & UAVs must be turned on and calibrated while the LPV is safely tethered to the dock.  Drones may have the gyro calibrated while on the dock and land, absolutely NO flights may be launched from the dock or from DNR property  
      4. The Relay Distance for any USVs & UAVs must be provided to the safety inspector and event staff to verify that they are an acceptable distance for the competition.  The minimum relay distance from the communication position will be a distance able to cover the entire course.
      5. USVs & UAVs will be reviewed and accessed for any potential unsafe conditions.
      6. All teams will be required to notify the judges and event team of any USV or UAV modifications or additions made after the initial safety inspection.  A safety assessment will be completed following any changes.
    10. Primary Vessel Challenge Requirement: Regardless of multi-vessel deployment, the team’s designated primary LPV must complete both:
      1. Slalom Challenge (#1)
      2. Evade / LiDAR Challenge (#3)
  8. Budgetary Requirements
    1. Direct Expense Limit: Direct expenses (including but not limited to hull modifications, sensors, hardware, and competition-related components) may not exceed $5,000 in additional costs.
    2. Gift-in-Kind & University Resources: Teams may use donated items and/or existing university resources, provided the fair market value (FMV) of these contributions does not exceed $5,000.
    3. Total Allowable Budget: The maximum allowable project budget may NOT exceed $10,000, inclusive of:
      1. Direct purchases
      2. Gift-in-kind contributions
      3. University-provided resources (valued at FMV)
    4. Excluded Expenses: The $10,000 limit does not apply to:
      1. Travel, food, or lodging
      2. Student labor or faculty time
      3. Gifted Services
    5. Budget Documentation: Teams must submit a budget report to prove compliance to the budgetary requirements that includes:
      1. Itemized expenditures for direct purchases
      2. Documentation of gift-in-kind donations with FMV
      3. Documentation of university resources with FMV
    6. Compliance: Non-compliance with these design or budgetary requirements may result in penalties, loss of points, or disqualification.
  9. There is no maximum number of student participants per team criteria; student participants must comply to the member eligibility criteria. 
  10. Additional rules for the final event including location, arrival times, safety, rubrics, etc. will be provided prior to the AIMM ICC. 
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Right to Revise Rules

Trine University and NSWC Crane reserve the right to revise the rules at any time by providing the participants notification of revisions in the form of bulletins, revised editions of the rules, or announcements at the competition.

Acceptance of Rules

All persons or groups selected to participate in the competition are expected to know and accept the Rules. Participation in the competition shall constitute acceptance of them.

Team Member Eligibility

Anyone who has attended the participating university as an undergraduate full-time student in one of the past two semesters, or two of the past four quarters, or part time for the past year, is eligible to serve as a team member.  Graduate students can serve as advisors and mentors but should not be active members of the team, unless complying with the prior student criteria.

Supplies

For this competition, teams will use the supplied Low Profile Vessel and sensor kit. The teams can make small changes to the boat design, but all material should be easily sourced at local hardware stores, or a cost-effective online supply source.

The teams will also be provided with a sensor suite. It is up to the individual teams to add on any extra sensors they deem necessary, and program their own algorithms to make the sensor suite work to the individual LPVs.

*Additional costs incurred must comply with Rule 8 outlined above.

Scoring

The competition will be judged in three Topic Areas (Technical Report, Presentation, and Final Competition). Awards for the Top Team will be awarded for each Topic Area. The combined efforts of all three Topic Areas will yield the standings for the overall winner. 

Documents

Challenge Brief
Competition Course Details
Challenge Competition Scoresheet
Score Log
Technical Design Report
Design Presentation
Buoy Images
Vehicle Safety Inspection
Sensor Package
Supplied Project Materials