Over 30 teams of students converged at Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio on Saturday, June 20, 2015 to compete head-on in a battle of the best. As with all great competitions, there was team spirit, cheering crowds, an emcee, and fast-paced action. Oh, and one more thing: Robots!
The 6th Annual CORI Invitational, hosted by Central Ohio Robotics Initiative (CORI) and sponsored by Honda R&D, gave teams a chance to compete one more time. This all day off-season event, featured robots designed, built and controlled by students. PAST Innovation Lab is a long-term CORI partner and supports robotics programs for all students.
The robots were developed as part of the 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®). Each January a new game is revealed by Inventor and FIRST® Founder Dean Kamen. This year’s game, Recycle Rush℠. The recycling-themed game played by two Alliances of three robots, each from a different team. Robots score points by stacking totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and properly disposing of pool noodles, representing litter. In keeping with the recycling theme of the game, all game pieces used are reusable or recyclable by teams in their home locations or by FIRST at the end of the season.
It was an exciting day with all teams pushing hard to maximize their individual robot’s performance. The robotics program, however, is about much more than robotics. Yes students develop engineering, coding and design skills. But they also work as a team to brainstorm great ideas that will improve their robot and get the message of their program out to the public. Working with a mentor, often a teacher, they visit grade schools to share STEM concepts with younger children and to encourage everyone to get involved with robotics – no previous experience required!
Teams competing in this year’s CORI Invitational were asked to donate two non-perishable food items for each registered team member. Through their team spirit and commitment to community service, 578 pounds of food were donated to the Dublin Food Pantry!
No competition would be complete without awards, and the CORI Invitational is no exception.
Winning Alliance: Team 234 – Cyberblue from Indianapolis, IN Team 2614 – MARS from Morgantown, WV Team 3266 – Robots R Us from Eaton, OH
Runner Up Alliance: Team 4145 – WorBots from Worthington Schools, Worthington, OH Team 4146 – WorBots from Worthington Schools, Worthington, OH Team 1720 – PhyXTGears from Muncie, IN
CORI Spirit of Ohio Award: Team 3201, Ross Rambotics, Hamilton, OH
Awesome Drive Train Award: Team 2614 MARS, Morgantown, WV
Best Stacker Award: Team 1126, SPARX, Webster, NY
Judges’ Award: Team 5667, Team AIR, New Albany, OH
CORI Mentor of the Year: Bret Queary from Team 1317 Digital Fusion, Columbus, OH
Congratulations to all teams for a great season!