Back to the Future?

Impossible Robotics  – the Science Students of whom we bring you news from time to time – have just been tasked with an exciting challenge for 2017: To build and program robots to deliver fuel, and gears, to Flying Steam Ships!

The robots they build will face their challenge at the University of Central Florida on March 9^th – 11^th 2017. During each game three teams from around the world work in alliance to beat three opposing teams – all have two and a half minutes to demonstrate their engineering skills as the robots they have designed, built and programmed fly around an arena – working both autonomously and by teleoperation to fulfil their tasks. It’s fast, it’s noisy, and it’s fun!

The idea behind these annual events organised by FIRST Robotics is to stimulate young people’s interest in Engineering, Mathematics, Science, and Technology. Not so incidentally the program builds self-confidence, self-worth, communication and leadership skills whilst allowing young people to discover their hidden talents. Tomorrow’s engineers emerge from these events.

Race against time…

Impossible Robotics are at full-stretch: They have set their strategy – to Keep it Simple – and, four weeks in, have decided to concentrate their attention on building robots which will deliver the Gears to the waiting Steamship (presumably because they’re worth the most points!). Next in importance for our young engineers is to endow their robots with the capability of lifting themselves aboard the steamships. Natty.

Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted

The sheer workload of those two tasks means that they have had to stop work on developing robots with a ‘shooting’ ability (part of the challenge is to shoot ‘fuel’ into a boiler with a basketball-like action.) However, very intelligently they have delegated that work to supporting colleagues! We wish them all the luck in the world.

Here’s one we made earlier…

Encouraging an interest in Engineering, Electronics, and Technology is the very best thing we can do for our young people. At Victron Energy we see that we have a responsibility, and to play a small part are proud to sponsor Impossible Robotics.

Here’s the challenge..

Watch the FIRST Robotics challenge the students have accepted: