Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 15, 2001 University and high school students build tradition with robotWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the second consecutive year, students from Purdue University and three Lafayette-area high schools are building a robot for regional and national competition. The Westside Boiler Invasion Robotics Team will demonstrate their completed engineering creation from 3 -5 p.m. Sunday (2/18) at the Westside Junior High School gymnasium, 1105 North Grant Street, West Lafayette. The six-week project is part of the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" contest (or FIRST). Twenty-two students from West Lafayette, Lafayette Jefferson and Harrison high schools will build a functional robot from a kit provided by the competition. They will be assisted by 16 engineering majors from the Purdue Student Engineering Foundation. Students will have invested as many as 1,400 hours in the project. When it's finished, the robot will be able to maneuver over a playing field of carpet and throw balls into a large basket. Judging is based on the number of baskets made by the robot in a two-minute period, as well as animation and presentation of the project. The machine must be ready by Tuesday (2/20) to compete against rival robots in the March 22 Regional Robotics Competition at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The National Robotics Competition is April 5-7 at Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla. Last year, the first Westside team won the Rookie All-Star Award and finished in the top half among participating teams. George Chiu, Purdue mechanical engineering assistant professor, is volunteering as a team adviser again this year. West Lafayette High School teachers Steve Florence and Peter von Werder are coaching the team. The students are still about $20,000 short of the $40,000 cost needed to register and participate in the competitions, said Purdue mechanical engineering major Shannon Schnepp, director of FIRST and a member of the student engineering foundation. Donations to the team are welcome. Sources: Shannon Schnepp, schnepsm@purdue.edu George Chiu, (765) 494-2688, gchiu@purdue.edu Writer: Grant Flora, (765) 494-2073, gflora@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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