AWT Regional RoboBot Competition 4/28/12
By Bob Yanega
Although we had to wait months to see the epic sci-fi destruction that occurred in downtown Cleveland for The Avengers movie, a series of high-tech battles was being waged east of Cleveland even before the blockbuster made its premiere.
The setting was the gymnasium at Lakeland Community College. The opponents were 200 high school students along with 100 advisors and mentors from both the corporate and academic world. Oh yeah… and 24 of the coolest battling robots ever seen in NE Ohio. The result was the second annual AWT Regional RoboBot Competition which played to a packed, high-energy crowd back on Sat 4/28.
Sponsored by The Alliance for Working Together, a consortium of local employers, the goal is to get kids interested in careers in manufacturing, which is one area that has more job openings than qualified candidates right now. AWT Co-Chair Roger Sustar says that is why the group is also working with LCC’s Workforce Development Department to create a manufacturing degree program to train students so that the next generation of manufacturing workers will have the necessary skills.
Another big supporter is Madison High School Principal Bill Fisher whose school was represented by 4 teams, including one coached by him personally. Despite failing to score enough damage offensively, the students on his team were visibly proud of the strength of the armor they selected since it not only withstood their opponent’s assault, but also caused a piece of the attacking weapon to break off. Said Fisher, “It’s just great being here, and the whole process gives kids a chance to visit and work with local manufacturers and see what their facilities are like and to consider whether this is a career that they might want to pursue.”
In case you’ve got a stereotype in mind of the typical kid who was competing, these sophisticated cyborgs have captured the interest of more students than just a few computer geeks in Lake County. Teams traveled from places such as Max Hayes High School in Cleveland and Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Hts., and there was an entire team of young ladies from Beaumont School in Cleveland Hts.
The process of getting to the competition was also more complex than you might think. Each team was required to submit documentation detailing the design and construction of the RoboBot including schematics, drawings, timelines and journals. Each team had at least one advisor from their sponsoring local manufacturer who facilitated the learning process that is at the heart of the program. Safety was also a paramount concern, and teams had to pass an extensive safety check and interview the day before the competition in order to be allowed to compete.
Each match lasted a maximum of 3 minutes, and teams were judged based on aggression, control, damage and strategy. The goal, of course, was to inflict enough damage to knock the competitor’s robot out as soon as possible. The format was a double elimination, so that every team was guaranteed at least two matches.
In the end, the West Geauga team “The Eleventh Hour” sponsored by Burton Tool was the overall winner. The other official results and peer awards for things such as “Coolest RoboBot” can be seen on the group’s Facebook Page.
For more info visit http://ThinkMFG.com.
Bob Yanega is a freelance writer, speaker, fountain of ideas, and renaissance man. He also still occasionally publishes his e-newsletter Bobsense, and spends a disproportionate amount of time inline skating and tinkering with various eco-friendly home projects.
A lifelong Clevelander and unofficial Cleveland ambassador, Bob promises that he will actually publish his book someday which he says will “transform the way people in Cleveland think about Cleveland”. His website is http://www.BobSense.com.
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AWT Regional RoboBot Competition 4/28/12 – Trade Reform
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