Lexington, Ky. (Lex 18) – A growing robotics league combining STEM and Sports will have a major competition this week on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
This is called La Robot Gladiator League, and it is a competitive series developed by the Grenier de Newton in partnership with the Center for Stem + Excellence at Morehead State University.
“It is not a typical academic team competition. There are no golf strokes in the robot gladiator league, “said Keith Hollifield, chief Toyaker for Newton’s attic. “These are long -term cries, bring your signs. It’s a sport.
“It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s engaging,” added Dawn Cloyd, director of community awareness. “There are trophies, there are applauding crowds.”
The Gladiator League robot combines combat robotics with a team sports environment in order to transform competitive robotics into something that communities could encourage.
“The program that we are now directing is really modeled after football, basketball, typical sporting events that you would find in a high school where we have a score mechanism where the score increases throughout the match,” said Hollifield . “You have that, this drama and this sporting dynamic that the crowd really begins with it.”
It was only the second year of the league, but it has already doubled in size.
“I was shouted as a reference,” said Hollifield. “I brought parents and get angry with me, and that’s how I knew we had struck. I was like, ok, these guys are passionate enough to feel enough to come and strongly express their opinion on a decision that I made. »»
“When we see this kind of answer, I know that we are going downstairs on the right path and if someone goes out to watch, he will feel it and they will see this.”
This season, 16 high school teams are involved in the Gladiator League robot, which hopes to continue to grow in more counties – and ages.
“We hope to take him to the college level and probably at the college level once we have become good to do,” said Cloyd.
“What we do as a fun game and acquire these skills directly is correlated with what they can do in an engineering career on the road,” added Hollifield.
“We like to say that it is a sport where 100% of players can become pro,” said Cloyd, “because they will take these skills in one way or another.”
This Saturday, the Gladiator League Forum robot takes place at the Gatton Student Center in the United Kingdom. The teams will fight for spots in the state championship of season II. The event is open so that anyone can participate and competitions start at 10 a.m.
Gladiator League robot developed by Newton’s attic