Robofest eNewsletter, 11-2-12

 

(1) Bottle RoboSumo North American Championship, Nov. 3

(2) Join Thanksgiving RoboParade, Nov. 17

(3) Missouri Educational Robotics Conference, Nov 9~11

(4) Teacher Education Course using Lego NXT at LTU

(5) MCWTF Scholarship

(6) Seeking Site Hosts for Spring 2013 Competitions

(7) Kick-off on Dec 5

(8) Wanted: Robofest Coordinator

(9) Please return L2Bots

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(1) Bottle RoboSumo North American Championship, this Saturday!

Sat. Nov. 3, 2pm ~ 6pm, Lawrence Tech University, Southfield, Michigan

 

This competition is to select teams representing countries in North America to compete at the International Robot Olympiad in December. The event is free and open to the public. For details, go to www.robofest.net and click on *Bottle RoboSumo* link.

 

(2) Join Thanksgiving RoboParade, Nov. 17

7th Annual Thanksgiving RoboParade will be held at Macomb Community College Expo Center on Sat. Nov. 17, from 12:00pm ~ 3:00pm.

 

RoboParade features fully autonomous robot floats, which follow a parade route, detect robots in front of them, and are constructed and programmed by student teams in fourth through 12th grades. For more information and rules, please visit www.robofest.net and click on RoboParade link. Team registration will be closed soon. Students will be able to calculate average speed of robots.

 

(3) Missouri Educational Robotics Conference, Nov 9~11

Nov 9~11, Jefferson City, Missouri. Organized and Sponsored by U of Missouri Extension, Missouri 4 H, and Missouri Afterschool Network. For more info, please go to: http://4h.missouri.edu/events/robotcon/

 

(4) Teacher Education Course using Lego NXT at LTU

Lawrence Tech University in Southfield Michigan offers a 14 week (Jan 22 ~ Apr 26, 2013) 3 credit course entitled Autonomous Robotics for Education. (Course number: MET 5263). This is a course in the MET (Master of Educational Technology) program at LTU. The course will introduce concepts involved in robotics and robotics programming and how to use robotics education technologies to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. It will provide hands-on experience in programming Lego robots with NXT-G language. Please contact Dr. Valentina Tobos ([email protected]), MET director, if you are interested in taking this class. We meet twice a week:� on Tuesday 7pm ~ 8:15pm and online during the week.

 

(5) MCWTF Grants Offered to All-Girl Teams

The MCWTF (Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation, http://www.mcwt.org ) is offering $500 grants to all-girl middle school or high school Robofest teams.

 

Application form can be accessed (soon) at:

http://www.mcwt.org/Robotics_Grants_187.html

 

The deadline for returning applications is December 22, 2012 by midnight. Late applications will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by January 13, 2013.

 

(6) Seeking Site Hosts for Spring 2013 Competitions

In contrast to other big robotics competitions, Robofest does not require teams to hold major fundraisers to underwrite the cost of participation. However, Robofest provides unique opportunities to maximize math and science learning through autonomous robotics. Robofest is seeking site hosts for the 2013 Competition Season. Qualifying Competition Sites are needed in Feb ~ early April of 2013. Interested individuals, organizations, or schools should contact Robofest office at [email protected] or check out www.robofest.net and click on *For Site Hosts* link. Especially, we are looking for site hosts in Africa, Europe, and South America.

 

(7) Robofest 2013 Kick Off Meetings in December

14th season annual Robofest 2013 will be kicked-off on Wed, Dec. 5, 2012, 3:00pm ~ 4:30pm (EST) at LTU in Southfield in Buell Mgt. Building, room M218. Rules will be announced, 2013 game will be unveiled, and team registration will begin.

Anyone can participate in the meeting online using Wimba. The direct link will be on our website at www.robofest.net. To join the online meeting, we recommend you test the connection before the meeting. Identical meetings will be held on Fri, Dec. 7, 6:30pm ~ 8pm; and Sat, Dec. 15, 10am ~ 11:30am.

 

(8) Wanted: Robofest Coordinator

Robofest is expanding and we are looking for a part-time Robofest coordinator. Please contact Dr. Chung, [email protected], if you are interested in this position.

 

(9) Please return L2Bots!

We expect more L2Bots next year. If you borrowed an L2Bot from LTU, please return it to Robofest office. We do appreciate your cooperation.

 

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If you have questions, please *do not reply* directly to this email message. See below for contact information.

 

Lawrence Tech University / Robofest / M219

21000 W. Ten Mile, Southfield, MI 48075

Fax: (248) 204-3518

CJ Chung, Professor, Robofest Director, [email protected]

Christopher Cartwright, Associate Professor, Robofest Program Manager, [email protected]

Teri Dubois, Robofest Associate Coordinator, (248) 204-3568, [email protected]

William Power, Robofest Assistant Coordinator, (248) 204-3569, [email protected]

 

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