The phrase “Walk This Way” has
special meaning for students from 19 colleges and universities from across the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico
arriving on campus for the Society of Automotive
Engineers' annual Walking Robot Challenge, starting on Friday.
This is the first time the College
has hosted the prestigious international event, and Union's
hopes are riding on “Dutchbot” a six-legged competitor under the tutelage of seniors Adam Retersdorf, Jason Cook and Craig Johnson. Their advisor and contest director is Prof. Nick Krouglicof.
During the competition, which will
span two days — Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1 — the machines will perform
in six events that will challenge student designers to think creatively. The events range from a simple
“dash” to autonomously traversing an obstacle course.
Student teams designed and built their
robots, which operate by a self-contained power source.
All events are in Memorial
Fieldhouse. Awards are in Reamer Campus Center Auditorium on Saturday evening.
(See schedule below.)
A panel of judges will score the
machines on their components, construction and “intelligence,” as well as
performance during the tasks.
The contest is funded through
support from General Motors and Honda Motors. Last year the contest was hosted
by La Salle University
in Mexico City.
For more information, visit http://engineering.union.edu/WalkingMachine/
Schedule of Events:
Friday, April 30 —
7 to 10 p.m. — Dash &
Load Retrieval Events
Saturday, May 1 – 8 a.m. to noon — Slalom, Tripwire, & Object Seeking
1:30 to 5:30 p.m. — Endurance & Obstacle Course
7 to 10 p.m. – Reamer
Campus Center
Auditorium — Awards Ceremony