VCU School of Engineering kicks off robotics competition

By Mary Beth Alford

RICHMOND, Va. – Eager high-school students, teachers and engineers from across the state packed Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Engineering auditorium Jan. 6 to watch their teammates and competitors receive parts for building robots for upcoming battle. At the same time in Manchester, N.H., hundreds of competitors – including more than 60 from Virginia – witnessed the unveiling of the new engineering challenge and received their kit of robot-building parts.

Nearly 525 teams from across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Brazil will use the boxes of supplies in designing, building and testing fully functional robots in just six weeks. Although robots are created from the same box of parts, they vary in size, shape and capability. In addition to helping local teams build their robots, VCU will host one of thirteen regional rounds of the FIRST Robotics Competition.

"The competition ignites tremendous excitement in teen-agers, and we look forward to inspiring and motivating these young people to become more interested in math, science, engineering and technology," said Timothy Cameron, Ph.D., VCU associate professor of mechanical engineering and a mentor for the FIRST Robotics Competition.

During the kickoff, participants - including teams from John F. Kennedy High School, Richmond Community High School and the Governor’s School for Government and International Studies - learned what robotics challenge they would face.

"Teams will work with three other robots to score as many points as possible by placing large and small balls into or on top of seven-foot tall cylindrical goals. They will also receive points for driving their robots into the "end zone," said Jeff Seaton engineer, team member and sponsor representative from NASA Langley. "Teams may increase their score by finishing in less than two minutes or by balancing goals on a bridge in the center of the playing field."

The NASA Langley VCU School of Engineering FIRST Robotics Competition Regionals will be held March 8-10 at VCU’s Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St. For more information or to volunteer for technical or non-technical tasks for the March event, contact Pattie Cook, at (804) 784-4898 or roboticsfirst@aol.com.

The FIRST Robotics Competition national championship will be held in April at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla.