Robotics in Ontario?

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:46 pm

So...I am going to be leading robotics at my school next year.
Our robotics team uses the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots to compete in competitions.
Unfortunately, the previous team leaders did not inform me of the names of competitions because robotics had basically died.

A Google search returned nothing so...
If you know of any Ontario based, LEGO using, robotics competitions, please mention them. (Close to GTA is preferred but all are welcome.)

Thanks.

Tony · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:00 pm

http://www.firstroboticscanada.org/ is the most known one, but the use of LEGO robots would place you in a pre-highschool competition braket, which I guess doesn't work. (not that LEGOs are a bad choice -- first year University level Mechatronics students build their first robots out of LEGO).

I haven't heard of others, so I would be interested in seeing what you find.

Edit: if you don't find anything, you could take the initiative to host your own competition, and challenge neighbouring schools.

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:08 pm

I know that there is a competition starting with O...but I can't find it yet Laughing

Wouldn't it get more complicated if we were to host our own competition (with issues with school admins)? If I can't find anything, the club will probably fall back to Robocode in order to keep functioning.

Tony · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:01 pm

I actually have no idea how the logistics might turn out. The insanity of school rules varies greatly from place to place Razz

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:03 pm

Tony @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:01 pm wrote:

I actually have no idea how the logistics might turn out. The insanity of school rules varies greatly from place to place Razz

...my school probably wouldn't even pause to think about it before rejecting. Laughing

ultimatebuster · **Posted:** Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:27 pm

Our school's doing the same.

Ontario Skills Competition?
VEX?
First?

Though we have literally no experience with mC. I'm the only one with significant programming experience.

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:20 pm

^None of those actually use the LEGO kid Sad

If you want, I can host a robocode battle on my school server and we can compete against your school's robotics members for fun Very Happy

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:43 am

Here are the two I was able to ask the ex-leader of robotics (at my school) about:

UOIT Robotics Competition

University of Guelph Roboticon

Bobrobyn · **Posted:** Sat Jul 23, 2011 2:20 pm

Just a comment on what ProgrammingFun said:

The University of Guelph - Roboticon - competition is in March every year during College Royal, the University's open house. If you want to talk to someone about it, talk to the executive of the Society of Computing and Information Science (the Computer Science Club of the school): exec@socis.ca [full disclosure: I was the president of SOCIS at Guelph for two years]. The dudes that run it will read and respond to your email fairly quickly. It's run by volunteers and there generally isn't much info available until closer to the date of it, but if you email the exec they'll definitely put you on the "heads up list" for when they send out info.

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Sat Jul 23, 2011 2:59 pm

Thanks for that info! That's a great help and makes it easier to organize a team on my end. Just to confirm, they give you a task and then you have to build and program an NXT in the time limit right? Anyways, I will definitely contact that email for more information.

Bobrobyn · **Posted:** Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:20 pm

ProgrammingFun - Yeah. The website is back up: http://www.roboticon.socis.ca/index.php/Main_Page . You can check out past challenges.

You program the kits for a task before coming...you have months to prepare. Then, towards the evening of the first day, they give you a second (surprise) task that has to be done for the next day. It's a lot of fun!

ProgrammingFun · **Posted:** Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:21 pm

Bobrobyn @ Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:20 pm wrote:

ProgrammingFun - Yeah. The website is back up: http://www.roboticon.socis.ca/index.php/Main_Page . You can check out past challenges.

You program the kits for a task before coming...you have months to prepare. Then, towards the evening of the first day, they give you a second (surprise) task that has to be done for the next day. It's a lot of fun!

Thanks for that info! Really looking forward to this!

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