The University of Queensland is bracing itself this week for the annual robot invasion.
Over 500 school students will front their prized possessions to compete at the RoboCup Junior Queensland Competition, in a battle for the Queensland titles.
The battle begins at 11:30 on Saturday August 20 at the UQ Centre, Union Road, St Lucia campus, and wraps up on Sunday afternoon with the official prize ceremony.
Around 150 teams from all over Queensland have been preparing for the competition throughout the year. Schools from as far as Mackay will participate in five categories: Soccer, Rescue, Premier Rescue, Primary Dance and Open Dance.
The RoboCup Junior Competition has been operating nationally since 2000 and aims to encourage young people to take an interest in scientific and technological fields. The competition is an excellent opportunity to cultivate their interest through hands on creation, in a fun and exciting environment.
Robotics expert and senior lecturer at UQ’s School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) Dr Gordon Wyeth said for young students RoboCup Junior provided an exciting introduction to the field of robotics.
“It offers a new way to develop technical abilities through hands-on experience with electronics, hardware and software, and provides a highly motivating opportunity to learn teamwork skills,” Dr Wyeth said.
The University of Queensland is committed to nurturing the development of technology skills in young people. Dr Wyeth said the upcoming generation would develop the technologies of the near future and robotics would very likely be a key technology.
“RoboCup Junior is all about learning the technical and teamwork skills that will lead young Australians to the forefront of the next technology revolution,” Dr Wyeth said.
World-class tutors at UQ have developed workshops to help students and teachers build their knowledge and understanding of the simple concepts that form the basis of robotics. They then take these skills back to the classroom and work independently to build and program the robots that compete in the Robocup Junior Competition.
The winners of the Queensland competition will travel to the University of New South Wales in Sydney to compete in the Robocup Junior Australian Open Championships on September 3 to 4. The world finals will be held in Bremen, Germany, from June 14 to 20, 2006.
Media: For more information, contact Ms Kelly Larratt (telephone 07 3365 4195, email activities@itee.uq.edu.au) or Dr Wyeth (telephone 07 3365 3770, email: wyeth@itee.uq.edu.au).
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