Three arduous, hot and windy days of robotic competition in the desert of southern Utah concluded on Saturday, June 4^th.  Sponsored by TASC, the 2011 University Rover Challenge (URC) fielded eight collegiate teams, all putting forward the most remarkable array of technology ever seen in five years of URC events.

The participants were composed of three teams from Poland, three from the United States and two from Canada. By the end of the competition, one team from each country had placed in the top three.  The Magma2 team from the Bialystok University of Technology in Poland pulled away from the other two teams to an impressive victory.

Magma2 was the first European team to win URC.  Also they were the first team to ever deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the competition.  Coupled with a rover constructed primarily of clear polycarbonate that made it lightweight, the Bialystok team impressed the judges and navigated the tasks like seasoned professionals.  It wasn't just parlor tricks that won the event for Magma2.  The resounding quality of their rover from top to bottom was critical to their success.

The closest race of the day came between the second and third place teams, York University of Canada and Oregon State University of the U.S. respectively, who were separated by only 16 points.  All together, the top three teams of 2011 were the same top three from 2010, but with different results.