The New York Times published the article, "As Robots Grow Smarter, American Workers Struggle to Keep Up" yesterday. While it's true that robotic technology has advanced, it still has room for improvements especially in the field of autonomous robots.
Below are links to organizations which promote robot-building from the elementary school level and above. You may as well be in charge of the robots instead of having the robots be in charge of you! Besides, it's fun.
AUVSI Foundation
The AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International) Foundation holds six different types of competition. The robots built for most of their competitions run autonomously or without a person to guide them. I attended the Roboboat competition last summer and it was iintense.
Below is AUVSI's list of competitions. Registration for the 2015 Roboboat and RoboSub events are now open.
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National SeaPerch Challenge
May 29-31, 2015
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
North Dartmouth, MA
http://www.seaperch.org/seaperch_challenge or www.seaperch.org
Each year, middle and high school students from across the country gather to compete in the National SeaPerch Challenge. During the National SeaPerch Challenge, student teams must demonstrate the capabilities of the SeaPerches they have built as they navigate through an underwater obstacle course. Teams also display posters and deliver oral presentations about their design philosophy and construction challenges before a panel of judges. SeaPerch is an easy to assemble, underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle) which is built from a kit, making it a great entry point for students interested in robotics.
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Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC)
June 5-8, 2015
Oakland University
Rochester, MI
www.auvsifoundation.org/igvc
Created in 1993, the IGVC challenges student teams to develop an autonomous ground vehicle that can navigate a complex list of mobility, design, and interoperable architecture requirements. Based on product realization, it is multi-disciplinary, theory-based, hands-on, team implemented, and outcome assessed. It encompasses the very latest technologies impacting industrial development and taps subjects of high interest to students. Design and construction of an Intelligent Vehicle fits well in a two-semester senior year capstone course or an extra curricular activity earning a design credit.
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Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) Competition
June 17-22, 2015
Webster Field
Patuxent River, MD
www.auvsifoundation.org/suas
The SUAS Competition, aimed at stimulating and fostering interest in unmanned air systems, technologies and careers, focuses on engaging students in a challenging mission. It requires the design, integration, and demonstration of a system capable of conducting air operations which includes autonomous flight, navigation of a specified course, and use of onboard payload sensors. The event has been held annually since 2002.
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International RoboBoat Competition
July 6-12, 2015
Founders Inn and Spa
Virginia Beach, VA
www.roboboat.org
The International RoboBoat Competition was first held in 2008. In it, student teams race autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) of their own design through an aquatic obstacle course. This includes littoral area navigation, channel following, and autonomous docking. It is typically accomplished with computer vision, multi-sensor fusion techniques, proactive and reactive path planning, and machine learning approaches using embedded systems within the vehicle. The competition provides an opportunity for students to develop skills in system engineering by accomplishing realistic missions with autonomous vehicles in the maritime environment. -
International RoboSub Competition
July 20- July 26, 2015
SSC Pacific TRANSDEC
San Diego, CA
www.robosub.org
Since 1998, the RoboSub competition has advanced the development of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) by challenging a new generation of engineers to perform realistic missions in a demanding underwater environment. The primary emphases of the competition are education and career preparation. Students gain an appreciation for the trade-offs inherent in any system design as well as lessons learned in transitioning from working bench prototype to operating reliably in the real world. -
International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC)
August 13-16, 2015
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta VA, USA
and
Beijing/Miyun, China
www.aerialroboticscompetition.org
The AUVSI International Aerial Robotics Competition, now in its 22nd year, involves the development of sophisticated aerial robots attempting a never-before-achieved mission to fly indoors to covertly search for and retrieve a specific target. Key to the Competition mission is that these flying robots are fully autonomous "thinking" machines. There will be no humans controlling the robots. They must avoid obstacles, navigate, and search for the target item without any human intervention or use of GPS navigation aides. Currently there is no aerial robot in existence that can perform the mission goals as stated in the Official Rules. The first team to achieve these behaviors will be moving the state of the art in aerial robotic behavior forward while providing validation of a militarily-significant mission.
Best
BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Robotics Inc. (BRI) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization. Unlike some of the other robotics programs, there is no fee to participate. From their website,
Any school may participate regardless of socioeconomic status, size, or location. Public, private, and home school groups or organizations (that is, not individual families) are welcomed to participate.
Regional championships just ended and it looks as if registration will begin in Sep 2015.
Botball®
Botball® competitions are for middle and high schoolers. The robots are autonomous. Students program in C, C++, and Java to build the "brains" of their robots. Registration is now open and workshops are held throughout the US.
FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) offers competition in four age groupings:
- Junior FIRST LEGO League (Grades K-3)
- FIRST LEGO League (Grades 4-8)
- FIRST Tech Challenge (Grades 7-12)
- FIRST Robotics Competition (Grades 9-12)
Contacts are available in most states and in some countries outside of the US. If a contact isn't listed in your area, there are instructions to start your own. If you get sticker shock from reading about the price to participate, remember to read the information about grants. You may also call (1-800-871-8326 x0) for more information. The FIRST Robotics Competition Kick-off is Jan 3, 2015.
Robofest
Autonomous robots compete in the festival of competitions called Robofest. It started in 2000 at Lawrence Technological University. Competition is divided into Junior (Grades 4-8), Senior (Grades 9-12), and College. Teams can consist of no more than five people and starting one is easy. Events are held throughout the year across the world.
Robot Racing
Robot Racing has been held since 2005 and is for autonomously driven vehicles. Early bird registration ends Jan 31, 2015 while registration ends Apr 15, 2015. Competition is July 10-11 at Waterloo University.
It looks as if all the robots are let loose on the course at the same time. Points are given for collision avoidance. They make clear the following on their website:
This is Robot Racing, not Robot Wars or Urban Challenge.
VEX Robotics
VEX Robotics offers education and competitions. Starter kits range in price from $249.99 to the classroom bundle of $3,499.99 which includes twelve individual starter kits. Online resources are available for curriculum development. They hold many competitions throughout the year all over the US.
If you know of a robotics organization which isn't listed here, add it in the Comments section below.