Lawrence Tech To Host Robofest World Championships This Week

SOUTHFIELD – Looking for something fun and free to do thsi weekend with the whole family? Check this out: More than 70 teams from 10 states and eight other countries will compete in the 15th annual Robofest World Championships this Saturday at the Don Ridler Field House, Lawrence Technological University.

Admission and parking are free for the event, which is happening 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Robofest is a competition of autonomous robots – computer-programmed to act independently and not remote-controlled – that encourages students to have fun while learning principles of science, technology, engineering, and math, known as the STEM subjects. Teams compete in the junior division (grades 5-8) or senior division (grades 9-12) using a variety of computer programming languages.

Robofest gives teams a real-world-type problem to solve using their robots. This year's game, "Avoid Meltdown," requires a robot to perform certain tasks at a fictitious power plant represented by a playing field on a 32 inch by 72 inch tabletop. Teams must program their robots to independently deliver three water balls and a special ball into the plant without any help from the coaches. They also must remove two concrete blocks (AA batteries) – all in two minutes.

Thirty minutes before each round unknown tasks are unveiled, and teams must solve these tasks without any adult help.  Teams must also calculate the volume of the plant with their robot programs and collect sensor data.

This year's competition includes more than 1,600 students from Michigan and nine other states (Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Hawaii, California, Missouri, Indiana and Washington) and eight other countries (Canada, Mexico, Korea, China, India, South Africa, Brazil and France).

For more information on Robofest, visit www.robofest.net.