Robots Square Off in a Technological Tournament

June 4, 2008

Rob MacIntyre, a member of the Bridges for Peace Home Repair, served as an umpire for the competition. High school, college, and army-aged competitors were in one bracket, while younger robot warriors battled it out with mechanical Lego machines in another. Rob MacIntyre, a member of the Bridges for Peace Home Repair team, served as an umpire for the competition. He said that the goal for the teams was to complete as many circuits around the track as possible, racking up points for each lap. Additional points were awarded if a team could use their robot to get one of the large colored balls down from its place, push it around the track, and then put it back in its place again. Rob said that he was watching carefully for any rules violations, including robots going around the track in the wrong direction, a robot’s “arm” being inside the bumper of another robot, or any acts of aggressive play.

Avetis, a 12^th-grade student from team #1579 out of Tel Aviv, said that the competition was tough. “There’s a lot of teams that are good, and some only [try to] crush you,” he said. Avetis and his team were fielding a pink-colored robot with claw-like arms, affectionately named the “Pink Panther.” However, the Pink Panther faced some stiff competition from the other teams, such as team #1943 from the Begin High School in Rosh Ha’Ayin and their robot “Hercules.” The Israeli Army and Air Force also had several teams participating, while other teams enjoyed the support of high-powered sponsors, such as Boeing Israel and SAP (Systems Applications and Products in Data).

Family and friends of the participants were on hand at the Nokia Arena, home of basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv, to cheer on their favorite teams. Many of them held signs or wore T-shirts from the various schools and teams participating. Keeping the fans excited and the competition moving was DJ Tomer from Tel Aviv. He said that the best music for the robot competition was rock, electric, trance, and “all things that make people go crazy.”

Touching Hearts and Lives Uniquely

Bridges for Peace was an official sponsor of the competition and had seven of its volunteers working there in various capacities from umpires to judges’ assistants as part of its Touching Hearts and Lives Project, in which volunteers are given opportunities to serve the Israeli community in a variety of unique ways beyond our regular programs. Trystan Tregenza, program coordinator, said that the competition “involved us (Bridges for Peace) in a large cross section of Israeli society. Rather than working at one school,” he said, “we were meeting teachers and students from across Israel.”

By Will King, Correspondent, BFP Israel Mosaic Radio

Photo Credit: Photoby Will King