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Robotics Event Nov. 3-4 Features Teams from 5 States
(Posted: October 31, 2006) (Printable Version)
Thirty teams from Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Arkansas will participate in the Frontier Trails BEST Regional Robotics Competition, sponsored by the City of Fort Smith and the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith on Nov. 3-4.
Activities of the competition will be held at the Fort Smith Convention Center and on the UA Fort Smith campus, according to John Martini, assistant professor and director of the competition.
All of the entrants in the regional event have already won in earlier local competitions, which are known as “hubs.” The teams represent eight local competitions.
The robotics competitions are held nationwide under the BEST heading, which stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology. The theme of this year’s event is Laundry Quandary and involved designing a laundry-handling robot, which retrieves “dry” laundry from a clothesline and places “wet” laundry on a clothesline, all within a three-minute time limit.
The BEST concept began in Texas in the mid 1990s. This is UA Fort Smith’s second year to host the regional competition.
Approximately 1,000 to 2,000 students are expected to attend the two-day event, according to Martini.
“Some teams have more than 50 students,” Martini said. “Also attending are their teachers, mentors, parents and friends. It’s an exciting, ballgame atmosphere, with a lot of enthusiasm from the teams and from those attending.”
The first day of the event will include judging of Team Project Summary Notebooks, Team Displays and Interviews, and Oral Presentations. On Nov. 4, action begins at 8 a.m. in Stubblefield Center, with various levels of the competition continuing throughout the day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.
Each team designs, manufactures and operates its remote-controlled machine.
“However, the teams are judged on a variety of areas,” he said, “not just the robot’s performance. Other judging areas include a project summary notebook, table display and interviews, team Web page, t-shirt design, spirit and sportsmanship, as well as several robot design awards, with points given in the various categories.”
The top award is the BEST Award. This is presented to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, which takes in inclusiveness, diversity of participation, exposure to and use of the engineering process, sportsmanship, teamwork, creativity, positive attitude and enthusiasm, and school and community development. The Robot Competition Award is presented to the team whose machine finishes first in the robotics competition.
The hubs and the schools involved include:
Billikin BEST from St. Louis, Mo.: Columbia High School, Columbia, Ill.; Ft. Zumwalt West Middle School, O’Fallon, Mo.; Mineral Area Home School Group, Farmington, Mo.; and Parkway North High School, St. Louis, Mo.
Heartland BEST from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Okla.: Fairview High School, Fairview, Okla.; Shattuck Junior/Senior High School, Shattuck, Okla.; Lawton Academy of Arts and Sciences, Lawton, Okla.; and Perry Mid-High and High School, Perry, Okla.
Kansas BEST from Wichita State University, Wichita, Kan.: Ambassadors for Christ Academy, Bentonville, Ark.; Wichita Home School, Wichita, Kan.; Johnson County Homeschool from Olathe, Kan.; and Circle High School, Towanda, Kan.
Northwest Arkansas BEST from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville: Haas Hall Academy in Farmington; Lebanon Junior/Senior High School in Lebanon, Mo.; Siloam Springs High School in Siloam Springs; and Conway High School in Conway, Mo.
OK BEST from Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City: C.O.A.C.H. of Norman, Okla.; Tulsa Engineering Academy at Memorial High School in Tulsa; Oklahoma City Home School, Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Moore High School, Moore, Okla.
Northark BEST from North Arkansas College in Harrison: Bergman Junior High, Bergman, Ark.; Green Forest High School, Green Forest, Ark.; and Northark Tech Center, Harrison, Ark.
River Valley BEST from UA Fort Smith: Greenwood High School, Greenwood, Ark.; Lavaca High School, Lavaca, Ark.; Ramsey Junior High School, Fort Smith; and Western Arkansas Technical Center, Fort Smith.
Crowley’s Ridge BEST from Arkansas State University, Jonesboro: Buffalo Island Central in Monette, Ark.; Ridgefield Christian School in Jonesboro; and Crossett High School in Crossett.
| Article by: Sondra LaMar, Director of Public Relations |
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