Robotics competition tackles climate issues

More than 300 students from across Nova Scotia will converge on Acadia University to compete in two exciting robot programming competitions Saturday, Nov. 29. This year’s event will challenge students to solve climate problems, navigate a complex maze and find the quickest tour around a set of cities.

“These challenges are meant to introduce children to the fun and experience of working together to solve real-world problems by applying math, science, engineering and technology skills,” says Daniel Silver, Director of the Jodrey School of Computer Science at Acadia University.

"It is essential that as Nova Scotians we develop science skills at home,” he said. “More and more, technology is looked at as something that is created somewhere else, and that doesn’t bode well for the future. This competition hopes to offset that."

He adds that more than 70 Acadia faculty, staff, alumni and community volunteers have joined together to give their time to plan and train others in support of the championship event. Faculty from Nova Scotia Community College campuses have also worked with Acadia to mentor coaches and teams for regional events.

The 3rd annual FIRST LEGO® League (FLL) Climate Connections Challenge will feature 30 teams of students aged 9-14. To successfully complete the Challenge, teams must build and program a LEGO MINDSTORMS® robot to explore one of today’s most critical issues - climate.

Teams will explore how we learn about past climates and examine questions about current and future climate conditions. Challenge missions include exploring greenhouse gases, wildlife, preparation for climate conditions and gathering communities of people.

“Climate Connections gives kids a hands-on, real-world experience,” said Dean Kamen, FIRST founder. "It allows them to use their imaginations and creativity in combination with science and technology, and lets them experience first-hand the very real and exhilarating struggle that even top scientists face with this incredibly broad and important topic.”

Each September, FIRST LEGO League announces the annual Challenge to teams, engaging them in authentic scientific research and hands-on robotics design. Using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technologies and LEGO play materials, children work alongside adult mentors to design, build and program robots to complete missions based on real-world challenges. After eight intense weeks, the competition season culminates in high-energy, sports-like tournaments.

Fourteen high school teams to compete

The fourth Acadia High School Robot Programming Competition (ages 14-18) will feature 14 high school student teams competing to build and program robots to complete timed challenges, such as traveling salesman line-tracking, complex maze navigation, and object removal. These challenges, developed at Acadia, require ingenuity of robot design, use of various sensors and the design and development of sophisticated software. These high school teams use the same LEGO MINDSTORMS® technologies, but often employ advanced programming and engineering methods. Previous competitions have demonstrated the creativity of Nova Scotia high school students and their skills in using math, engineering and computer science principles. Coordinated by Acadia University, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc., Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development, and Nova Scotia Community College are major sponsors for this year’s FLL competition.

“Michelin is proud to play an active role in the community and we are thrilled to sponsor the FIRST LEGO® League event at Acadia,” says Dennis Langille, Technical Manager of the Michelin Waterville facility. “Our business relies on innovation and discovery through science and technology and we believe the FLL is an excellent way to inspire children to be curious, to explore new ideas and to be innovative.”

The competitions are judged in four areas: project presentation; robot performance; technical design and programming of the robot; and teamwork. The highest honour will go to the team that best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.

Currently in its 10th year, the FLL anticipates the biggest season ever, with more than 13,500 teams competing in 40 countries. More than 135,000 children will compete.

The Challenge runs from 1:30-8 p.m. Nov. 29 at Acadia University’s War Memorial Gymnasium and is free to the public. For more information, visit cs.acadiau.ca