FORT SMITH : Students, their robots dazzle in competition among 7 states
Posted on Sunday, December 2, 2007
FORT SMITH — “Caddy” — big and pink and able to turn on a dime — performed about as well as her makers hoped.
The robot, made of cut sheet metal, plywood, a few small motors and few other parts, scooped up plastic bottles and deposited them in a box, just as was required Saturday at the 2007 Frontier Trails BEST Championship at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
Caddy was one of 34 robots entered by junior high and senior high school students from schools in Arkansas and other states that competed for top billing at the Stubblefield Center. This was the fourth time the campus hosted the regional championship.
High school juniors and seniors who take classes at UAFS’ Western Arkansas Technical Center designed and created Caddy, which got its name after its plywood was painted pink. The machine reminded its team of a pink Cadillac.
“I missed one day, and the robot turns out pink,” said Aaron Johnston, a freckle-faced junior at Southside High School in Fort Smith who takes a class at the technical center.
Johnston was one of about 50 students who worked on Caddy. He helped to design and to build her.
On Saturday, he got to drive her using a remote control provided by event organizers while marching bands played and cheerleaders excited the crowd.
“Let’s go, robots. Let’s go,” they chanted as students dressed as aliens, school mascots and indecipherable costumes readied their robots.
This year’s theme was “2021: A Robot Odyssey,” and the premise was as follows: Automated Supply Vehicles have landed at the Martian base and must be unloaded using robots.
The robots’ tasks were to pick up bottles and small boxes, which represented fuel, medical supplies, food and equipment.
Teams had only three minutes to pick up the items and place them in receptacles “because of the harsh environment on the Martian surface,” according to organizers.
Caddy could only pick up bottles — four at a time, at best. Other robots had specially designed arms, resembling miniature fork-lifts, that picked up bottles and boxes.
Students built the robots out of parts sent to them six weeks before the competition. Only a few additional parts, such as paint and golf balls for balance, could be added.
The competition drew junior high and senior high school students from Northwest Arkansas as well as Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Many of the competitors plan to study engineering and architecture in college. Pat Widders, dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology at UAFS, said he was impressed by the “bright minds” showing their talents. “There is a tremendous amount of energy in here today,” he said.
To contact this reporter: glaroe@arkansasonline. com
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