Eight Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) trainee officers formed part of the UNSW-Canberra Robotics and Autonomous Systems team that completed the 2025 Australian Rover Challenge, hosted by Adelaide University.
Twenty-four teams from universities across Australia, Poland, India, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan competed in four challenges over four days last month.
The UNSW-Canberra team's semi-autonomous rover Marvin (named after the character from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) was developed to mirror the demands of real-world space exploration.
Throughout the four-day competition, Marvin navigated challenging terrain, performed autonomous operations, manipulated objects and collected scientific data.
Team lead Pilot Officer Patrick Phillips said the goal was to design, develop and deploy a highly capable semi-autonomous rover.
"Beyond competition success, the project has provided the team with many learnings, which we aim to apply to future builds," Pilot Officer Phillips said.
"Our aim was to display engineering excellence, demonstrating our ability to integrate various subsystems into a functional system."
Commandant of ADFA, Brigadier Troy Francis, said he was inspired to see the skills demonstrated.
"I was impressed by how the team tackled setbacks and came together to support the larger group. Other university participants noted the team's strong leadership, attributing this to the influence of military experience in shaping their disciplined and effective approach," Brigadier Francis said.
"ADFA's technology and capability module is introduced in the final year of studies. It provides trainee officers an introduction to disruptive technologies, such as machine learning, automated systems and artificial intelligence."
The UNSW-Canberra crew received the 'best new team' award and was commended for the Rover's design that enabled better driver ergonomics and ease of use.
Participating in the competition helped the team unlock key insights to learn from and perform better next time.
Last year, ADFA received the highest number of applications in the past 12 years.
For more information on how to start a career in the ADF, visit https://www.adfcareers.gov.au/
