Robofest World Championship Coming To Lawrence Tech May 19
SOUTHFIELD -- Twenty-two teams that have advanced from the Michigan regional competition will compete against teams from five other states and three other countries in the 13th annual Robofest World Championship Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Ridler Field House at Lawrence Technological University, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road, Southfield.
In this year's competition game, a rescue robot must circumnavigate a rectangular platform, grab silver balls on top of towers and then deliver the rescued balls to the "hospital," a black box on one end of the platform. During the mission, the robot must measure the distance between tower buildings and report it in millimeters.
Two other events, Exhibition and RoboFashion Dance, allow competitors to demonstrate their imagination and creativity.
Admission and parking are free. Spectators can become judges to select people's choice awards. They may win raffle prizes.
Robofest is an international competition of autonomous robots – computer-programmed to act independently and not radio-controlled – that encourages students to have fun while learning principles of science, technology, engineering, and math. Students design, construct and program the robots, and adult coaches are not allowed to assist during the events. Teams compete in the junior division (grades 5-9) or senior division (grades 9-12), using a variety of computer programming languages.
This year 1,630 students on 502 teams participated in the annual Robofest competition founded in 2000 by CJ Chung, professor of computer science at Lawrence Tech.
For more information, call (248) 204-3566, visit www.robofest.net, or email robofest@ltu.edu.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, was founded in 1932. Bloomberg BusinessWeek lists Lawrence Tech among the nation's upper third of universities for return on undergraduate tuition investment, and highest in the Detroit metropolitan area. Lawrence Tech is also listed in the top tier of Midwestern universities by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review. Students benefit from small class sizes and experienced faculty who provide a real-world, hands-on, "theory and practice" education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech's 102-acre campus include over 60 student clubs and organizations and a growing roster of NAIA varsity sports.
