Local students fare well in schools robot competition

THREE West Cork schools were named as finalists when 2nd year students from across Munster battleed it out in the 2016 CEIA Schools Robot Competition. 

After an intense three-hour battle, the CEIA – Cork’s Technology Network – announced that Presentation Brothers College in Cork was the overall winning team.

However, Rossa College in Skibbereen were announced as the runners-up.

Scoil Mhuire in Macroom and St Brogan’s College in Bandon were named as finalists in the prestigious competition.

The competition, which took place in Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), challenged students in teams of four to programme their robots to conquer tasks such as maze navigation, line following, and multi-task robotics using ultrasonic, touch, light and colour sensors. 

The competition is supported by CIT, University College Cork, Tyndall National Institute and CEIA member companies.

This year the theme was ‘robots and the Internet of Things (IoT)’.

Students built and programmed their robots, getting an understanding of how objects embedded with electronics – such as robots – have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.

 A key aspect of this competition is that engineers, researchers and technologists from supporting institutes and companies provide mentor support for the teams throughout the competition – giving students an insight into potential careers in the industry. 

As well as the robotics challenges, the teams also made posters and kept project log books to document their work. 

Since the competition began in 2004, almost 1200 students have been introduced to the world of robotics, including electronics and sensor technology, as well as problem solving, teamwork and making scientific presentations in public.