Free workshop offered for robot contest participants
UWP industrial studies professor Charles Knox will conduct a free workshop on Jan. 22 to help prepare participants for the Autonomous Robot Contest.
PLATTEVILLE-The fourth annual Autonomous Robot Contest will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on March 31 as part of the Technology Challenge/Engineering Expo. The event is open to school-sponsored teams, but also to individuals in grades seven through 12, whether a participant's school is entering or not.
A free workshop will be conducted on Jan. 22 at UWP to help participants prepare for the contest, and robot models are available for use during the workshop.
The contest is held to promote experimentation in electronics, mechanics, microprocessors, and computer programming. Each team or entrant is given a list of movements that the robot will be programmed to perform and then they have 30 minutes to write the program and download it to the robot. Scores are based on the accuracy of the movements and the time taken to complete the series of movements.
Charles Knox, a UWP industrial studies professor, is coordinating the contest and urges area educators to promote interest in the event, even if an individual school is unable to compete.
"This is an excellent opportunity for students to get hands-on experience with electronics and have fun in the process. It takes them beyond theory and allows them to see the result of their efforts in motion," he said.
To register for the workshop or to learn more about the contest, contact Knox at (608) 342-1618 or e-mail him at knoxc@uwplatt.edu.
Contact: Charles Knox, professor, Industrial Studies, (608) 342-1615, knoxc@uwplatt.edu
Prepared by: Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,martense@uwplatt.edu
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