Wilcox Family BLOG

On Tuesday, June 16, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., students in the Robotics course at the Academy for Science and Design Public Charter School in Merrimack, New Hampshire, will go head to head against their peers and with engineers from Kronos Incorporated of Chelmsford, Ma., in a Robot Sumo competition. Anyone with an interest is welcome to watch.

The students will be using robots they have designed, built, and programmed over the last 6 months using Lego MindStorms kits, having learned mechanical and software engineering along the way, and often discovering their final design differs radically from what they first envisioned.

Robot Sumo begins with two autonomous robots in a round douyou ring, a white circular area measuring 36″ in diameter. The first robot pushed out of the ring loses. The students have been working in teams of 2 or 3 to create and improve their robot designs. A number of students have also created second robots of their own to compete. Robot Sumo has provided students with a unique design and programming challenge, requiring extensive hands-on work from each student.

Few things, however, have given the students more pleasure than seeing their robots beat the one designed and programmed by their instructor, Kronos engineer Doug Wilcox of Nashua.

The Academy for Science and Design is a tuition free open enrollment chartered public school for grades 7-12, specializing in science and math with algebra, biology, chemistry, and physics taught beginning in 7th grade.

Academy for Science and Design
316 Daniel Webster Highway
Merrimack, NH 03054
603 262-9162

Update:

The Robot Sumo event was a huge success, and we even got some great press from it.

“Young designers learn it’s about more than building best ‘bot’,” by Mark Oullette, Union Leader.

Mr. Oullette prepared a great video, available on YouTube.

“Academy of Science and Design class makes machines worthy of battle,” by Dana Smith, Merrimack Journal.

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