16th Annual Fire Fighting Home Robot Competition Draws Enthusiastic Crowd
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Trinity Students and a Robot at the 16th
Annual Fire Fighting Home Robot Competition |
HARTFORD, Conn. – A team from Misgav High School in Israel was the overall winner in Trinity’s 16th annual Fire Fighting Home Robot Competition, capping a two-day event in which colorful and exotic devices armed with wires, balloons, squirt guns and fans navigated mazes in search of burning candles to extinguish.
The winning Israeli team, named Blastoise, was just one of several from that country to prevail in the competition, which altogether featured entries from five countries, 13 states and communities across Connecticut. Trinity did not get shut out of its own contest, with Firefly finishing third in the senior division in which kits were allowed to be used.
This marked the first year that a separate event – RoboWaiter – was held on Saturday. Co-sponsored by the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, the competition in Oosting Gym required an autonomous computer-controlled robot to find its way around a model of a kitchen. The robot had to locate and carry a plate of food from a refrigerator to a table where two disabled people, as represented by dolls, were sitting. Finishing first in the RoboWaiter competition was a team from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, followed by a team from Fort Walton Beach, Florida and one from Ort Givat Ram Jerusalem.
On Sunday, the main event was kicked off by Trinity President James F. Jones, Jr., who welcomed the participants, their mentors and coaches, and the throngs of supporters cheering the teams on. In his opening remarks, Jones praised the originator of the competition, David Ahlgren, as one of the College’s “faculty eagles.” For his tireless work, Ahlgren, the Karl W. Hallden Professor of Engineering, was presented with two annual memberships to the multimillion-dollar Connecticut Science Center, which is scheduled to open later this spring.
For his part, Ahlgren, who has been a member of Trinity’s faculty since 1973, called the event “spectacular,” saying everything went as smoothly as could be expected. He said it was especially gratifying to have so many international teams represented.
The categories started at the middle school level, many urging their robots on, even when the devices bumped into walls, misfired and failed to complete their mission. The robots were required to navigate a maze that resembled a house, locate the fire (as represented by the burning candle), put it out by squirting water at it or blowing it out and then optionally return to the starting point. Contestants could not use joysticks or remote controls.
Laura Chapdolaine, whose son Ryan is a 7th-grader from South Deerfield, Mass., said he had been inspired to take part after attending a robotics camp at Hampshire College. “He’s enjoyed building things since he was really little,” she said. “And it’s great to be here and see people from all over the world.”
But Ryan’s team did not finish in the top three in his category. The top competitors in the Junior Division were from Frontier Regional School in Massachusetts; Pittsfield, New Hampshire; and West Windsor, New Jersey. In the Junior Division using kits, the first- and second-place winners were both from Yanbu Middle School in China. Coming in third was a team from East Red Primary School, also in China.
In the High School Division, the order of finish was Misgav High School in Israel; Ostrovski High School in Israel; and Hall High School in West Hartford. In the High School Division using kits, the top three teams were from Beijing Children’s Palace, China; Liuzhou Technology Museum No. 15 Middle School, China; and George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Placing first in the Senior Division was a robot from Vanadium Labs in New York, followed by a team from Rabin High School in Israel and one from Pennsylvania State University. In the Senior Division using kits, the first-place winner hailed from Anhui Province Tongling No. 3 Middle School in China. Placing second was a team from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, followed by Trinity’s Firefly team.
The top competitor in the Walking Division was from New York City; and in the Walking Division using kits, the top two teams were from APCS Guarda, Portugal, and George School. Two members of the team from Portugal, Gil Azevedo and Samuel Nunes, were thrilled to be participating in the competition for the first time and said that robotics contests in their country had whetted their appetites to compete internationally.
The major sponsor of the two-day event was Versa Products, Inc. of New Jersey, which produces directional control valves. The company’s president and CEO is Jan Larsson, a 1977 Trinity graduate. Her company provided a Versa Valves Challenge Award to recognize the entry that showed the greatest ingenuity and creativity using a Versa Valve, which the company made available free of charge. Two robots from George School won the Versa Valves Challenge.
Other sponsors included Grandar China, the International Association of Arson Investigators, SolidWorks, Circuit Cellar, Mind Sensors, Scientific American, and Parallax, Inc.