Stevens freshmen battle in robot competition
A raucous cheer erupts from a crowd of students as a friendly looking robot named Alf defeats its sinister, black-clad opponent known as Darth Vader. The robots bump and twirl, each in an effort to win the contest. They must knock out the "enemy's targets," which are strategically placed lights along the perimeter of a large black and white, computer-operated box known as "the arena."
The students, all freshman engineering majors at Stevens Institute of Technology, are particularly excited because a student-built machine (Alf) has just trounced a professor's model (Darth Vader) during a trial run. As that round of shouting dies down, yet another contest begins. Soon, other excited teams begin cheering on their robots, each a uniquely designed and programmed wheeled robot controlled by a match-box sized computer.
During December, about 300 Stevens freshman conclude their first semester's engineering design class by participating in this robot competition. The project leading up to it challenges them to incorporate many aspects of mechanical and electrical engineering, software design and the use of industry-standard software, software/hardware integration, graphic design, project management, strategy and teamwork - in other words, the kind of challenges you'll find in the real high-tech world.
The robot project, part of Engineering Design Laboratory I, takes about eight weeks to complete and is required of all first-semester freshman engineering majors at Stevens. It accounts for 60 percent of the grade in the class, and it is the kind of hands-on, project-based learning that Stevens is incorporating throughout its curriculum as part of Technogenesis® - Stevens' new educational environment. Technogenesis is defined as "the educational frontier where students, faculty and industry jointly nurture new technologies from concept to realization."
Final robot competitions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Dec. 14, at the E001 Lab, lower level, Edwin A. Stevens Building at Stevens (5th and Hudson Streets, Hoboken, NJ). About a dozen robots have been invited to compete, and prizes will be awarded to team members of the top two teams.
Note: Reporters and photojournalists are welcome to cover the final competition. Please contact Cass Bruton-Ward at the above phone number if you plan to attend.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.
Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.
