2015 Sonoma County Robotics Challenge Results
Author: Rick Phelan
Published: 05.04.15
Over 400 students from 31 schools participated in the 2015 Sonoma County Robotics Challenge on Saturday, May 2, at Elsie Allen High School. The event was the culmination of three months of activity that involved students in designing, constructing, and programming robots using Lego Mindstorm robotics kits and programming software. This work promotes the 21st century skills of problem solving, innovation, and team collaboration.
The Sonoma County Office of Education partnered with local schools and the Sonoma County Economic Development Board to create this program, which is now in its thirteenth year. The goal is to engage elementary and middle school students in applying mathematics, science, engineering, critical thinking, teamwork, and oral presentation skills through robotics activities.
This year’s competition involved six events. A summary of each event is provided below, with results from the competition.
Capture the Flag
For this event, students made robots that could compete against another robot to locate and capture a flag within a one-minute time period.
1st Place | Sonoma Country Day School, Rumble in the Jungle
2nd Place | Sonoma Country Day School, The Hand
3rd Place | Austin Creek Elementary School, Flying Monkeys
Sumo
Robot sumo wrestling engages two robot contestants in trying to push each other out of a circular ring. The first robot to touch the floor outside of the ring loses. The last robot remaining in the ring wins. Two versions of this event were held.
Sumo NXT/EV3
1st Place | Adele Harrison Middle School, Wookies
2nd Place | Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley, Aidan Casey
3rd Place | Adele Harrison Middle School, Originals
Sumo RCX
1st Place | Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, Nanobytes
2nd Place | Meadow Elementary School, Champs
3rd Place | Adele Harrison Middle School, Wookies
Off-Road Racing
Off-Road Racing involved a 16-foot course with blocks of wood placed at different intervals. The objective was for students to design a robot that would overcome the barriers, stay on track, and finish in the fastest time.
1st Place | Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, Atako
2nd Place | Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, Narwal Nation
3rd Place | Austin Creek Elementary School, Flaming Cobras
Free-Form Challenge
This year’s free-form challenge encouraged student teams to explore the idea of “Rube Goldberg.” Teams could pick any task to accomplish using a planned script of actions. The only requirement was that the robot follow the planned script.
Beginnners
1st Place | Proctor Terrace Elementary School, Team 2
2nd Place | Proctor Terrace Elementary School, Team 1
3rd Place | Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, Atako
Advanced (2 or more robots needed to be incorporated)
1st Place | Sonoma Country Day School, Lazer Kittens
Drag Racing
Students raced robots on a track that was 16 feet long, with a goal of beating their opponents to the finish line. Two versions of this event were held.
Drag Racing NXT/EV3
1st Place | Whited Elementary School, Speedy Pigs
2nd Place | Austin Creek Elementary School, Razor
3rd Place | Austin Creek Elementary School, Lightning Bolts
Drag Racing RCX
1st Place | Proctor Terrace School, Team 8
2nd Place | Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School, Unicorns
3rd Place | Meadow Elementary School, Bulls
Programming Challenge
This challenge involved finding and fixing bugs in a “Sort the Bricks” program. Contestants loaded the “repaired” program onto a robot. Judges evaluated robot performance in the Sort the Bricks activity based on tasks completed and time.
1st Place | Riebli Elementary School, Panthers
2nd Place | Mary Collins School at Cherry Valley, Blue Ivy
3rd Place | Proctor Terrace, Team 4
Performance and Design Awards
At the conclusion of the Robotics Challenge, awards were presented for team performance and excellence in robotics design. This year’s winners were:
- Against All Odds Award
Meadow Elementary School, Gear Heads
- Best Overall Robot Performance Award
Sonoma Country Day School, Lazer Kittens
- Team Spirit Award
Proctor Terrace Elementary School
- Genius Programmer Award
Meadow Elementary School, Hawks
- Grand Gear Head Award for Mechanical Design
Austin Creek Elementary School, Flying Monkeys
- Golden Propeller Head Grand Prize Award
Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School
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