Student robotics and drone teams from across West Virginia and beyond will converge on Huntington Tri-State Airport Dec. 9 and 10 for two full days of head-to-head tournaments and a chance to advance to the next level of competition.
Presented by the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center with support from the NASA IV&V Education Resource Center and the West Virginia Robotics Alliance, the competitions for middle and high school students promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning while reinforcing social skills such as cooperation and teamwork.
Registration is open for both events.
The competition kicks off Saturday, Dec., 9, at 8 a.m. with a battle of the bots as teams compete in the Marshall University VEX VRC Robotics Qualifier. Teams will compete on a specialized playing field in a game called Over Under. The goal is to maneuver their robots to score points while trying to prevent opposing teams from doing the same. Teams can register at https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition/RE-VRC-23-2603.html#teams.
The action continues Sunday, Dec. 10, with the high-flying Marshall University Aerial Drone Qualifier. Teams will compete by maneuvering their drones through, over and around a series of obstacles while propelling balls from their starting area into a goal zone using air pressure generated by the drones. Teams can register at https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/adc/RE-ADC-23-2604.html#general-info.
Each event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Marshall University Aviation Maintenance Technology facility located at the airport (1433 County Route 3/1, Huntington). The registration fee is $55 per team per event.
Top scoring robotics teams will advance to the State Championships in Fairmont scheduled for March 2024. Winners of the drone qualifier will advance to a yet-to-be-named tournament.
“Even if you just formed a team, these tournaments are a great way to gather experience in a competitive environment,” said Kara Mullins, MAMC Makerspace/STEAM coordinator.
For more information, contact Mullins at kara.mullins@mfg.marshall.edu or 304-781-1624.
**Press release from Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center – Sept. 27, 2023