What
Students from 60 high schools around the Northeast will compete in BattleCry@WPI10, one of the largest robotics contests in New England. BattleCry@WPI is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The competition, which is hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and cosponsored by SolidWorks, BAE Systems, and FIRST, offers high school FIRST robotics teams the chance to test their skills and technical expertise in postseason competition.
Who
Forty-eight student teams from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
When
Friday, May 8: 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday May 9: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Harrington Auditorium
100 Institute Road
Worcester, Mass.
More Info
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition is an exciting, multinational contest in which teams of professionals and young people build robots using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules, and enter them in a series of competitions designed by Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers.
In each BattleCry@WPI match, two three-robot alliances will attempt to score points by shooting balls, known as moonrocks, into trailers attached to opposing robots. Each moonrock in a trailer is worth two points. During the match, teams can move other balls, called empty cells, from one area of the field to another to gain access to special high point balls. The robots compete first in a 15-second autonomous period, during which the robots move around the field or track targets automatically while human players attempt to toss balls into trailers. During this time, robots can also aim for special marks on the floor called BCXs for additional points. The autonomous period is followed by two minutes of robots playing under student operator control. At the end of the match, teams who moved empty cells may attempt to score 15-point bonus balls and once again align themselves over a BCX for extra points.
For more information, including the full schedule of events, visit the competition’s Web site at www.wpi.edu/+battlecry; call 508-831-6122, or email battlecry@wpi.edu.
