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The Shreveport Times: High school students' robots battle |
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Written by The Shreveport Times
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Sunday, 20 April 2008 |
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Local high school students weren't discussing movies or music, rather degrees, rotations and seconds Saturday at the Northwest Louisiana Autonomous Robotics Competition.
Benton High School teacher Marvin Nelson said this is the first year for a high school-level robotics competition, possibly even statewide, held from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Benton High School. Five student teams from Benton, Byrd and Parkway high schools came together to compete in two challenges and a judged design presentation.
Nelson said the competition is part of a larger effort by local high schools to prepare students for STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — college degree programs and to help launch Benton High's STEM Scholar Program, which will be offered next school year to interested and qualified applicants.
On competition day, teams competed using robots they programmed and built.
"These are autonomous," Nelson said. "The robot does everything on its own."
The first event, 4 Bottle Race, was a figure-eight type of contest.
"The goal is to run the robot around the figure as quickly as possible," Nelson said. |
