Pace University hosts robotics competition

robotics
Students control a robot, which is manipulating white balls and yellow cubes.

Twenty-seven teams of students in grades 7 through 12 from across the Hudson Valley, Capital Region and Adirondacks recently took part in a robotics competition at Pace University”™s campus in Pleasantville.
This was the 10th year for the robotics event originated by the nonprofit FIRST, which is based in Manchester, New Hampshire. FIRST is short for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.”

Rick Kline, associate professor at Pace”™s Seidenberg School, said “Having a competition like FIRST here at Pace is in keeping with our mission to train the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), computer and technology experts.”™”™

This year”™s space-themed game was called “Rover Ruckus” and it involved robots the students had been designing, building and programming since the start of the school year. The 27 teams had advanced from a field of 60 teams participating in other competitions.

The three winning teams at Pace were from Red Hook High School, Suffern Senior High School and the CCE Clinton County 4-H in Plattsburgh, New York. They”™ll take part in the world championships held in Detroit in April.