For immediate release                                                         Contact: Michele Jacklin       

February 5, 2009                                                                               860-297-4285

  Michele.Jacklin@trincoll.edu

Registration for 16^th Annual Robot Competition is Underway

 2009 Version to feature Two Unique and Exciting Contests

HARTFORD, Conn. – Registration is now open for Trinity’s 16^th annual Fire Fighting Robot Competition, which will span two days – April 4 and 5  -- and will feature two distinct and exciting events. The first, RoboWaiter, will take place on April 4 and is being co-sponsored by The Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The second event will occur on April 5 and will be nearly identical to the classic House on Fire competition that has attracted teams from around the world and is believed to be among the most popular robot contests anywhere. Last year’s event drew 106 teams from around the country, as well as from Canada, Israel and China.

Registration for the competition will continue through March 15 and is done through a secure website. The divisions will be open to the following numbers of robots: Junior Division, 20; High School, 50; Senior, 50; and Walking, 5. A total of five robots from any one college, university, corporation, or program will be permitted. The five may be entered in the same division or spread across different categories.

The registration fees are: Junior Division, $60; High School Division, $70; Walking Division, $75; Senior Division, $80; and RoboWaiter, $30.

Members of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities were instrumental in designing the RoboWaiter competition, which will take place between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Oosting Gym on the Trinity College campus. Essentially, a kitchen-like venue will be created where a person with a disability wants to have a plate of food moved from a refrigerator to a table where the person, represented by a doll, will be sitting in a wheelchair. To see a picture of the doll, visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/arena_images09/GrandpaWheelchairSM.jpg. The overall object is to create an autonomous computer-controlled robot that can find and carry a plate of food from a refrigerator to a person with a disability.

The simulated kitchen will include a second chair, a sink, a table, and a shelf that represents the refrigerator shelf. To make it more challenging for the robot, the arena will include a second doll standing at an arbitrary location. To see an image of the competition layout, visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/arena_images09/2_CCDD09ArenaRev2.jpg.

The way the competition works is this: When directed by a signal from a judge, the autonomous robot will move to the refrigerator shelf, pick up the plate, and place it on the table where the person with a disability is sitting.

Each robot gets three tries. The team having a robot that can complete the task in the fastest time and has the most successful runs will be declared the winner. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place finishes.

Admission is free for the RoboWaiter contest; the House on Fire contest is free for students and $5 for adults.

The House on Fire event, which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Oosting Gym, will be the most realistic fire fighting competition staged to date. Teams may practice for the last time at 8:30 a.m. The opening ceremony will get underway at 11 a.m. One key change this year is that the qualifying rounds have been eliminated.

During the competition, the autonomous computer-controlled robot must respond to a fire alarm, discover the blaze, and extinguish it in the shortest possible time. To accomplish that task, the robot must navigate a maze that resembles a typical house, locate the fire (a burning candle), put it out by squirting water at it, and optionally return to the starting point. Contestants may not use joysticks or remote controls.

Each division will offer prizes in both kit and unique robot categories. To earn a cash award, a robot must complete at least two successful runs. The awards will be handed out between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The registration fees are: Junior Division, $60; High School Division, $70; Walking Division, $75; Senior Division, $80; and RoboWaiter, $30.

Questions or comments should be directed to Contest Director David Ahlgren, Karl W. Hallden Professor of Engineering, at david.ahlgren@trincoll.edu, Event Coordinator Jessica Studinski at jessica.studinski@trincoll.edu, or Chief Judge Chris Wynschenk at cwynschenk@yahoo.com.

The lead sponsor of the two-day event is Versa Products Company, Inc. of New Jersey, which produces directional control valves. The company’s president and CEO is Jan Larsson, a 1977 Trinity graduate, who was motivated to sponsor the competition to interest students in engineering education and robotics, and expand the reach of this unique international event. Not only is Larsson a Trinity alumna, she is a former student of Ahlgren. Her company also is supporting six $500 prizes, the Versa Valves Challenge Awards, to recognize the entry in each division that shows the greatest ingenuity and creativity using a Versa Valve, which the company is making available free of charge to each team.

In addition to sponsoring the robot contest, Versa Products Company is supporting for a second year the Versa Valves Engineering Internship Program in which two Trinity students will serve as mentors working with as many as 120 Hartford middle school students attending Trinity’s Dream Camp during the summer of 2009. The Trinity students will work with the Hartford students to introduce basic principles of robotics, engineering, and computer science, and prepare the students to enter the competition in the spring of 2010.

For more information about the Trinity College Fire Fighting Robot Contest, visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/