Motivating Young Minds
to Master the Machine
Introducing…
• Faith Kurily, Robofest Coordinator
• Full time, started September 11, 2013
• fkurily@ltu.edu, 248-204-3568
Robofest Fall Season (RoboParade, GRAF, UMC)
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Background/Overview
Fall Events
Event Details (including Global Robotics Art Festival GRAF)
Looking ahead to Robofest 2014
Robofest - Overview
• Robofest has many events. You can think of them in two
categories – Main Events & Associate Events.
• Robofest Main Events:
– Games: students undertake annual robotic missions – puts math
skills to the test!
– Exhibition: students have complete freedom to show off any creative
autonomous robotics project
Robofest- Overview
• Robofest Associate Events
– VCC: Vision Centric Challenge for advanced Sr. High School and college students
– RoboParade: parade of robot floats constructed and programmed by student
participants. Robot floats are designed to stop and start without human help.
– GRAF (Global Robotics Art Festival): learning opportunity to use robotics with art
to create intelligent and interactive robots
– UMC (Unknown Mission Challenge): mission tasks are totally unknown until day
of competition (pilot program this year – targeting 6-8 graders)
– BottleSumo (Jr.): Be the first robot to find and intentionally push water bottle off
the table OR be the last robot remaining on the table.
– BottleZone (Sr.): find the bottle and occupy the zone
What makes Robofest Events unique?
• STEM focused
• Affordable – max registration fee for teams is $50 (some events
are less)
• Any type of robotics kit is allowed and can be re-used year to
year
• Any programming language is allowed
• Any material can be used
• Game playing fields are simple, inexpensive, and modular
• Students rule = no direct adult help (except for RoboParade)
“Autonomous”
• Computer programmed, not remote controlled
Remotely controlled robots
• No dead-reckoning: must use sensors (feed-back loop control)
• Interactive & Intelligent
Robofest is for everyone!
Variety of
opportunities for all
skill levels
2012-2013 Video
• http://youtu.be/_gWaeCJYcZs
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Game
Exhibition
VCC
BottleSumo
RoboParade
2013
• Saturday, November 23, 2013
• Macomb Community College South Campus Expo Center
(Warren,MI)
• 9am-4pm, Official Parade begins around 1pm
• Indoor parade where autonomous robots are decorated as floats
• Robots must follow a black line; stop if the float in front is detected.
• Robots must display current speed, speed limit is 7-17 cm/s
• This is an entry level event for students in the 4th-12th grade and is
non-competitive; however there will be a People’s Choice award
given
2013
• Other RoboParades
– Oct 25, 2013: Sugarland, TX (Halloween Parade)
– Nov 9, 2013: St. Petersburg, FL (Thanksgiving Parade)
– May, 2014: Virginia (Memorial Day Parade)
–…
Camp (in MI)
• Saturday November 2, 2013 8:30am-4pm at Charles Wright
Museum in Detroit, MI
• Workshop in the morning, parade event in afternoon. Parade
event is open to the general public.
• Effective model for beginner & novice teams
• $30 per team; a team is 1-3 members. Includes lunch.
• Few seats left – register now!
• Wanted: site hosts in other states!
Unknown Mission Challenge (UMC)
• Pilot Program this year targeting 6th-8th grades, will be part of World
Championship
• Saturday Dec 7, 2013 8am-12:30pm, LTU room M213
• Mission tasks will be totally unknown until the day of competition. The
goal of this challenge is to provide an opportunity to develop problem
solving skills on the fly without any help from adult coaches.
• Teams may use only a specific robot kit – for Dec, standard LEGO NXT
parts, sensors, motors, and one NXT brick should be used. Multiplexors
are not allowed. Pre-assembled robots cannot be used.
Global Robotics Art Festival
• Inaugural program combining STEM principles with art!
• Saturday, November 23, 2013 9am-4pm, Macomb Community
College South Campus Expo Center
• Robots must have computational components programmed by
participants and must employ sensors
• Performing Arts & Visual Arts divisions
• Open to students grades 4-12
Global Robotics Art Festival
• Wanted: Professional Demonstrations!
• Are you a robotics company? Working in robotics at a
university? A robotics enthusiast?
• We invite you to demonstrate your robotics arts project at
GRAF!
• To get a free booth or table, please contact robofest@LTU.edu
Global Robotics Art Festival
• Performing Arts Category Examples
Music played by robot
http://youtu.be/qR0je7nv-h4
Music: Robotic instruments played by humans
http://youtu.be/SdnYgf3QZT8
Dance
http://youtu.be/SzcIqhBRNFQ
Fashion & Dance
http://youtu.be/EjDYYBhepYw
Global Robotics Art Festival
• Visual Arts Examples
Painting: GRAF Logo
http://youtu.be/KS1GCGP8nVQ
Kinetic Sculpture
http://youtu.be/FSDOdoAR_Do
http://youtu.be/mr7rGLngvVc
Kinetic Canvas
http://youtu.be/zEEWek5NO84
Michigan Council of Women in Technology
(MWCT) Grants
• MWCT is offering a $100 grant for up to five (5) girl-only teams. Teams
can use the grant towards robot kits, project art supplies, GRAF
registration fee, transportation, or team T-shirts.
• Eligibility to apply:
– An adult coach must first register a team at www.robofest.net by Oct 22.
– Team members of the team must be all female students in grades 4th through
12th from the state of Michigan.
• For an application packet, please email Robofest Coordinator, Faith
Kurily, fkurily@ltu.edu
Robot Leasing Rules
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Only available for registered and paid teams
Currently robots available only for GRAF teams
Robots for RoboParade will be available after November 2
Robots for Robofest will be available after November 23
$50 deposit by check required
Stop by Robofest Office to fill out form
Questions?
www.facebook.com/robofest
robofest@LTU.edu
How do I register?
• Step 1: www.robofest.net You must register as a coach and
then log in
• Step 2: Register for the event of your choice
Each event/site has
a unique event ID
Team Information
Where can I get help?
• Registration/General Help
– Contact Faith Kurily fkurily@ltu.edu
– Call the Robofest Office, 248-204-3568
– Email robofestoffice@gmail.com
• Technical Help
– Attend camp/workshops for registered teams (RoboParade Camp, NXTG, EV3
Workshops)
– Find local technical mentors (engineers, college robotics students, etc).
Fall Workshops
• Workshops are for registered teams only.
• Workshops are great for all events, applicable for GRAF,
RoboParade, and Robofest!
• NXT-G Workshops
– Oct 12: 9am-12pm OR 1pm-4pm (Arts & Sciences Bldg S321)
• EV3 Workshop
– Oct 26: 9am-12pm OR 1pm-4pm (Arts & Sciences Bldg S321)
• Email Faith (fkurily@ltu.edu) if you plan on attending
Mentor Connection Program
• New program this year with goal to connect technical mentors to teams
• Mentors can be adults with computer programming experience, OR
experienced & mature high school students who have participated in
Robofest before!
• Please let Faith know if you are a team that wants a technical mentor, or
if you are technical mentor that is willing to help.
• We will try to make matches as available.
• Mentors are recognized through the President’s Volunteer Service
Award – great for resume building!
Wanted
• Do you have old NXTs laying around the house? Have your
students graduated and moved on from Robofest?
• Robofest Office is accepting donations of used NXTs!
• A tax donation letter is possible that will recognize your in-kind
donation to Lawrence Tech University
Fall Calendar
This is a screenshot from our google calendar, please check that for
most up to date information. www.robofest.net
Robofest 2014 Look Ahead
• Dec 2013: Kick-off meetings/webinars for spring season
• Changes for 2014:
– World Championships (WC) in Daegu, South Korea May 30-31, 2014
– There will be changes in the competition structure this year. Our plan is to hold North American
Championship (NAC) at LTU May 2-3, 2014. There will not be any Regional Championships –
more teams will be allowed from Qualifiers into NAC
– Any team that participates in local qualifier is eligible to compete at the WC. Teams that receive
winner trophies from Qualifiers & NAC will get some travel support to the WC. NAC winners will
receive greater travel support.
Local Qualifier
Participant
Local Qualifier
Winner
$$
World Championship
North American
Championship
$$$$$
Robofest 2014 Look Ahead
• Planned Events for North American Championship & World
Championships:
– Game
– Exhibition
– BottleZone*
– BottleSumo*
– Unknown Mission Challenge*
– Vision Centric Challenge*
Many options
for participation
*There is no qualifier for these events. First come, first serve, but space is limited.
Site Hosts!
• We are looking for site hosts outside Michigan.
• We are also looking for site hosts outside metro-Detroit
Michigan (such as the UP)
Questions?
www.facebook.com/robofest
robofest@LTU.edu
Robotic Artists Wanted!
Thank you!
www.facebook.com/robofest
robofest@LTU.edu