NEW: WPI to Host Robotic Soccer Tournament

Thursday, November 08, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Lifestyle Team

Hundreds of high school students from throughout New England are gearing up for the 16th Annual Savage Soccer Robotics Tournament at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Saturday.

More than 60 middle and high school teams from across New England, and one from New York, will compete in this robotic soccer tournament.

Student teams have had one month to design and build robots that, controlled by radio signals and at times operating autonomously, compete against other robots on two 8x-12-foot playing fields to win a game. The all-day event is free for participants and spectators, open to the public, and will take the place from 8 am to 5 pm at the Campus Center Odeum.

Deanna Clark, the event manager and a freshman at WPI majoring in chemical engineering, said 64 schools and clubs are participating this year. She noted that the level of excitement increases every year.

“It’s just so inspiring to see all these high school kids making robots and doing things that most kids have never even dreamed of doing,” said Clark, of Albany, N.Y. “I can’t wait to see all the robots performing. It’s going to be really exciting.”

Established in 1995 as an outreach program, Savage Soccer helps middle and high school students learn about basic robotics principles and teamwork.

The WPI student-managed tournament is hosted by FIRST Team 190 (Of WPI and Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science at WPI).

An increasing demand for robots and robotics systems has generated escalated interest in robots among young people. In 2007, WPI offered the nation’s first bachelor’s degree program in robotics engineering. WPI also offers master’s and doctoral programs in the field.

In addition to finalist and champion awards, eight others will be presented: Amazing Autonomous Award, Awesome Offense Award, Judge’s Award, Play of the Day Award, Savage Spirit Award, SolidWorks Design Award, Terrific Teamwork Award and Wow Award.

The event is sponsored by SolidWorks, WPI alumni, and Intelitek. For more information, click here.