11–15 October 2026
The 56th Conference of the International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems (ISTVS) will be held from 11–15 October 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. The conference will bring together researchers, engineers, industry professionals, and students from across the world to discuss the latest advances in terramechanics, off-road mobility, terrain characterization, vehicle dynamics, and related technologies.
Conference Schedule and Abstracts
Key dates, an overview of the conference schedule, and the list of accepted abstracts are available on the conference website: https://2026.istvs.org/schedule
Conference Schedule and Abstracts
A total of 46 abstracts have been accepted for presentation at the conference. The list of abstracts is available at https://2026.istvs.org/schedule
Full Paper Submission
Full papers are due 15 May. In an effort to get high-quality reviews on the papers, so that the proceedings could be properly indexed for the benefit of the authors, we will not extend this deadline. We will, however, not close the submission system and will endeavour to have all submitted papers reviewed, but the technical committee cannot guarantee that reviews on late submissions will be in time for the papers to be included in the proceedings.
Registration
Early Bird registration is open until 15 June and can be accessed at: https://2026.istvs.org/conference/registration
Early bird registration, until 15 June, offers a significant discount of 100 Euro compared to the standard registration that will apply after 15 June.
The organisers are fully aware of the situation in the world that may influence travel arrangements but this will be an in-person conference and attendees should register with this in mind. In any case, the conference will not be converted to a fully fledged hybrid event. We will, however, keep monitoring the situation
Optional Activities
The conference organizers are planning several optional activities for attendees and accompanying guests, including:
Accompanying Persons Program
Excursions and cultural activities around Pretoria and the Tshwane region.Post-Conference Safari
A one-day safari excursion to a nearby game reserve following the conference.Pre-Conference Workshop
A full-day workshop on Sunday, 11 October 2026, featuring technical lectures and hands-on tutorials from leading experts in vehicle dynamics and terramechanics.
Attendees interested in any optional activities may indicate their interest during registration.
Pre-Conference Workshop
Sunday, 11 October 2026
The pre-conference workshop will combine technical presentations with practical simulation tutorials focused on off-road vehicle dynamics and terrain interaction modeling.
Workshop Topics and Presenters
The workshop will consist of technical presentations interwoven with hands-on tutorial and will include the following:
· Simulation and validation of off-road vehicle Dynamics: presented by Professor Schalk Els and members of the Vehicle Dynamics Group (VDG) at the University of Pretoria
· Hands-on tutorial where attendees will perform multibody dynamics simulations of an off-road vehicle using MATLAB, Simulink, and Simscape: presented by Steve Miller from Mathworks.
· Terramechanics and vehicle-soil terrain interaction measurement and modelling: presented by Professor Corina Sandu from Virginia Tech
· Hands-on tutorial where attendees will perform soft soil interaction simulation using CMLabs Simulations inc. VORTEX Studio software: presented by Etienne Lareau from CMLabs
If you are potentially interested in any of these activities, you can indicate this during registration, and we will get in touch for further arrangements.
Technical Tour
Tuesday, 13 October 2026
The technical tour will take place on Tuesday 13 October at Gerotek Test Facilities where we will entertain you with demonstrations including a drawbar pull test in the sand trough, a truck ride into the mountainous rough track, a large tyre testing demonstration, and several other activities.
The technical tour day will conclude with the first-ever ISTVS student competition, developed by the founder members: University of Pretoria, Mississippi State University, and Virginia Tech.
ISTVS Student Wheel Design Competition
Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Ignite the competitive drive of your engineering students by sharing the 2026 ISTVS Student Wheel Design Competition, hosted at the University of Pretoria alongside the 56th ISTVS Conference. This challenge pushes undergraduate and graduate teams to apply advanced terramechanics principles by engineering a 3D-printable wheel optimised for maximum traction. Students must bridge the gap between theory and application by determining the ideal angular velocity required to maximise drawbar pull. The competition organisers will manufacture all submitted designs and evaluate them through systematic empirical testing in a controlled sand soil bin under identical load conditions.
Testing rig developed at the University of Pretoria, South Africa for the competition
We strongly encourage our members to champion this initiative within their research groups and ensure their students register by the approaching 15 May 2026 deadline. Overall performance will be evaluated based on maximum drawbar pull and predictive accuracy, supported by a comprehensive technical design report and a formal presentation. In-person attendance at the conference is not required, as teams unable to attend can submit a recorded presentation. Final submissions are due by 25 September 2026.
The official rulebook and required materials are available on this Google Drive , and further technical inquiries can be directed to Andries Peenze at andriespeenze@tuks.co.za.
More information on this is a previous announcement ISTVS Student Wheel Design Competition