2011: BUGS!
BEST is a themed robotics competition. The 2011 theme is "BUGS." The competition is making and using robots to capture genetically engineered bugs that have escaped into a warehouse. Participants have to build a robot to safely move them back into containment.
See the complete rules at this official file
The Robot
Our robot was designed to catch the flies and bug food. It has a six wheel design for stability and mobility while our lengthy arm can extend to the flies and over the obstacles before the containment areas. To improve efficiency we use gears; these gears also reduces stress on the small motors provided by BEST inc. to our team. Overall this produces a sturdy and high scoring robot for the BEST 2011 challenge.
We placed second in the BEST competition. Our robot named the Stalking Mantis was built to catch flies and place them into the woodpile containment area. This tactic won us over 300 points in one match. We then went on to win the wildcard spot in the competition and won second place overall.
About BEST
BEST stands for Boosting Engineering Science and Technology. Their mission is "To engage, incite, and inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, and technology through participation in a sports-like science and engineering based robotics competition."
The core values behind BEST are:- Students are the sole participants who are the primary decision-makers, designers, and builders.
- Any student may participate
- There are no registration or participation fees
- Any school may participate
Information from http://www.georgiabest.org/about.html