On Friday, October 18th, the Duderstadt Atrium and Connector Hall transformed into a hive of energy as over 100 students came together for the annual MPowered Innovation Challenge. Organized by MPowered’s director, Karen Vera Sanchez, this night of creativity and competition was all about hands-on problem-solving and cutting-edge tech, with students working in teams to tackle robotics challenges using Freenove autonomous vehicles.
At 4pm participants grouped up and got straight to work building and programming their Freenove robots, aiming to complete two big challenges. First up? Navigating a track by precisely following a specific path. Then came the second test: getting through an obstacle-filled course with the fastest time. With every task carefully clocked, the stakes kept rising as teams pushed their robots to be faster and smarter than the rest.
Throughout the event, which ran until 8 PM, students showcased impressive engineering chops, creativity, and collaboration. The challenge drew students from a diverse mix of schools—College of Engineering, School of Information, Literature, Sciences, and the Arts, Ross School of Business, Medical School, and Marsal School of Education, to name a few. And behind the scenes, a passionate team of MPowered volunteers kept everything running smoothly, from managing registration to troubleshooting at the tech desk to timing each team’s races.
Generous sponsors stepped up to make the night even more exciting. Freenove and Spherical Logistics contributed resources and expertise, while the Center for Entrepreneurship brought valuable support, and GitHub’s major funding upped the stakes with impressive cash prizes for the winning teams—$2,000 for first place, $1,200 for second, and $800 for third.
As the clock ticked down and teams raced their robots, the atmosphere was electric. The crowd cheered as bots zipped through the course, showing off each team’s hard work and ingenuity. By the end of the night, the fastest and most effective robots claimed the top prizes, but everyone left with something—the thrill of competition, new skills, and unforgettable memories.
The MPowered Innovation Challenge was a celebration of creativity, technical skill, and collaboration, leaving students inspired and excited to push the boundaries of innovation. For the participants, it was a night that truly captured the spirit of Michigan—a community of bold thinkers and problem-solvers ready to take on whatever challenge comes their way.
