UC Competition Asks Whose Robot Is the BEST?

Local high school teams will meet in robotic rivalry this Saturday, Nov. 1, at the University of Cincinnati. The competitive event is the culmination of a five-week initiative designed to foster youth interest in advanced technical careers.

The final Game Day competition will be in UC's Great Hall, atop the new UC Bookstore in the south wing of Tangeman University Center. From 10 a.m. till noon, teams will make presentations on the processes they used to design and build their machines. Robotic competition on an obstacle course will run from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

UC's College of Applied Science and College of Engineering are hosting the event as part of the nationwide program Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST), which is designed to promote technical careers among youngsters. Participating high school teams work closely with mentors and corporate sponsors to plan and build a radio-controlled machine designed to accomplish a defined task.

The competition began Sept. 27, when each team received an identical box of odd parts, fasteners, materials, motors, a radio controller, and a detailed description of the final competition's tasks. With such a short period to design, construct and test their robot, students experienced a real world product-to-market time crunch and learned valuable lessons about teamwork and problem-solving.

Contact: Ed Prather, assistant dean, College of Engineering, 513-556-1164
Cheryll Dunn, associate dean, UC College of Applied Science, 513-556-6561