Twenty-two student teams
from19 colleges in the U.S., Canada and Mexico are at Union College today to compete in the Society of Automotive Engineers' annual Walking Robot
Challenge. This is the first time the College has hosted the prestigious
international event.
During the competition, which will span
two days – Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1 – the machines will perform in
six events that challenge student designers to think creatively. The events range
from a simple “dash” across the competition surface to autonomously traversing
an obstacle course. Student teams
designed and built their robots, which operate off of self-contained power
sources.
Union College's team will field a robot called “Dutchbot”
and compete against 12 teams from the U.S., four from Canada, and six from universities in Mexico. Student members are: Adam Retersdorf
and Craig Johnson, seniors majoring in mechanical engineering; and Jason Cook,
a senior majoring in computer science.
All events will be in the Union College
Memorial Fieldhouse. A panel of judges will score the
machines on their components, construction and “intelligence,” as well as
performance during the tasks. Awards will be presented in Reamer Campus Center
Auditorium on Saturday evening. (See schedule below.)
The contest is funded through support
from General Motors and Honda Motors. Last year it was hosted by La Salle University in Mexico
City.
Events Schedule:
Friday, April 30th
Dash & Load Retrieval Events (7 – 10 p.m.)
Saturday, May 1st
Slalom, Tripwire, & Object Seeking Events (8 a.m. – Noon)
Endurance & Obstacle Course (1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)
Awards Ceremony – Reamer Center (7 – 10 p.m.)
Event Website: http://engineering.union.edu/WalkingMachine/