For some reason most robotics contests seem to be restricted to highschool students. It's bizarre. It's like "Hey kids get into STEM because robots are cool! OK now stop and go build accounting software."
Edit: Thinking more about it, it's even worse. "Hey kids, robotics is a toy for kids to play with."
I think a big part of it is because as an adult with the time, inclination, some money, and programming skills you're expected to just go off and build things.
I guess the same holds true for other adult things like paint-and-sips (you drink and paint a picture) though, so maybe you've come across an untapped market for bot-and-booze.
Just wanted to compliment you on your self-driving car design. Also skimmed your blog and paper. My intended area of focus is generative modeling but I thought your project was awesome nonetheless.
Edit: Thinking more about it, it's even worse. "Hey kids, robotics is a toy for kids to play with."