Close to one hundred teams from around the world invaded the Matadome at
California State University, Northridge with their robots last weekend
for the inaugural VEX Robotics World Championship. An alliance of three
teams from China won the fast-paced competition with robots built by the
students using the VEX Robotics Design System. The winning alliance
teams were Chengdu Shuangliu Experimental Middle School, Chengdu No.7
High School and Nanshan High School Mianyang. The teams were triumphant
on the game “Bridge Battle”,
which was created by Innovation First, the organization behind the Vex
Robotics World Championship. The tournament was designed as a vehicle
for students to interact and learn about robotics engineering in a fun,
non-traditional environment.
The VEX Robotics World Championship hosted high school and middle school
students from Brazil, Canada, China, Great Britain, Korea, Singapore,
Taipei and the United States for two days of non-stop and pulse-pounding
matches. The captain from the winning team from Nanshan High School
Mianyang said, “It was really awesome for us
to have the opportunity to compete against the best teams in the world.
We definitely needed to share our engineering knowledge and work
together as a team to pull in this win.”
“All the teams practiced for months to get to
The VEX Robotics World Championship and it was remarkable to see such an
array of talent from across the globe,” said
Jason Morrella, senior director of education and competition for
Innovation First. “It was also amazing to
witness the creativity that went into the design of their robots and the
enthusiasm on their faces during each match,”
Morrella continued. “Having this world-wide
competition has helped further our commitment towards motivating kids to
be passionate about science and technology.”
Bridge Battle is played on a 12’x12’
square field that is divided into two sections –
one “red” and one “blue”
– with two teams on each side. Each team
controls its robots to place tennis balls in respective red and blue
colored sections of a bridge platform and works closely together to
accomplish this task. Students compete in matches lasting approximately
two minutes, with a new one occurring every three minutes. No other
robotics tournament has ever held matches at such a fast pace. “We
wanted to increase the energy level of competition through the VEX
Robotics World Championship to make it the most riveting, unforgettable
experience for all participants,” said
Morrella.
More information about the VEX Robotics World Championship is available
at www.vexrobotics.com and www.robotevents.com.
About Innovation First, Inc.
Innovation First, a privately held corporation, was founded on the
belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to
produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First began
producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots, and is now an
industry leader in the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.
The company’s award winning Vex Robotics
Design System, VEXplorer, HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures and IFI
Robotics span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets.
Leveraging the company’s core competency in
electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions division works
closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting
solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of
all sizes. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant,
distribution center, and office located together in a 13 acre complex in
Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth
path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com
for additional information.
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