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, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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