SMRDC - Competition Rules

Eligibility

The competition is open to US, as well as international universities. Any graduate or undergraduate registered as a full-time student through the Spring of 2024 is eligible to participate.  Both individual and group projects are welcome.  Senior Design projects are welcome! An individual may participate in several entries provided each submission is on a different subject. 

Rules for Judging Round 1

​The letter of intent will NOT be evaluated.  It is required only to enable the organizing committee to arrange for judging. The project reports will be evaluated by multiple judges chosen from both industry and academe. Guidelines for the Letter of Intent and the Report are on the page of "Details". Up to five finalists will be selected from each of the two divisions – undergraduate and graduate. Criteria for choosing the finalists will be based on the Final Report Scoring Rubric. 

Rules for Judging Round 2

There will be two aspects towards judging the finalists

1) 5-minute presentation: Each team will be allowed Powerpoint slides and allotted 5 minutes for their presentation.  Questions will not be taken immediately, but during the poster session afterward. 

2) Poster session: This approximately an hour long, and is open to the judges and general audience. The participants are encouraged to show prototypes and videos and demonstrate their mechanisms or robots.