The F1TENTH Autonomous Racing Challenge: From Theory to Real-World Intelligent Systems was successfully held on April 1, 2026, at 2:00 PM in the ELW Lobby, University of Victoria.

The event was organized by the IEEE Young Professionals Victoria Section Affinity Group, in collaboration with the IEEE VTS/ComSoc Victoria Section Joint Chapter, the IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Victoria Section Affinity Group, and the IEEE UVic Student Branch.

The event was attended by key IEEE volunteers, including Dr. Feng Ye, Prof. Lin Cai, and Dr. Deisy Mamedes. Their presence highlighted strong IEEE support for student engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration in robotics and intelligent systems.

A total of three teams participated in the competition, demonstrating autonomous driving algorithms on the F1TENTH platform. The event provided participants with hands-on experience in perception, localization, planning, and control, effectively bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world implementation.

Following a series of time trials, the Red Team achieved the best overall performance and was awarded First Place, while the Blue Team secured Second Place. In addition, the Green Team received the Innovation Award in recognition of their creative system design and technical approach.

The event also facilitated active interaction among students, researchers, and young professionals, fostering a dynamic environment for technical exchange and networking. This successful activity demonstrates the value of experiential learning and multi-organizational collaboration, and it has strong potential to develop into a recurring flagship robotics event within the IEEE Victoria Section.