State robotics championship set for Lucas Oil Stadium
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The TechPoint Foundation for Youth will Saturday host the Indiana Robotics State Championship in downtown Indianapolis. More than 1,600 students will compete at Lucas Oil Stadium for a chance to advance to the VEX World Championship in Dallas.
The foundation says the students, who are comprising a total of 318 teams from throughout the state, will showcase the plastic or metal VEX robots they’ve built in the competition.
The competition is split into two categories: VEX IQ for elementary and middle school students, and VEX Robotic Competition, or VRC, for middle and high school students.
In the VEX IQ category, students use their robots to empty discs out of different dispensers and then launch them into scoring zones to score as many points as they can in one minute. Additionally, the competitors will have the chance to expand their robots horizontally to score additional points by touching different scoring zones.
In the VRC category, students will have two minutes for their robots to pick up foam frisbees from the ground and launch them into a scoring area, similar to frisbee golf. Robots can also spin four rollers on the playing field to match their color for additional points.
“Qualifying for the State Robotics Championship is a significant achievement,” TPF4Y President and CEO George Giltner said in written remarks. “Students from various backgrounds compete, broaden their perspectives, and develop teamwork and confidence-building skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.”
The event is free and open to the public. However, TPF4Y aims to generate $10,000 in donations from attendees during the competition, all of which will go directly to Indiana schools “that want to bring STEM education opportunities to their communities.”
The competition runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. You can learn more about the event by clicking here.