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Update: Robots come alive in 15th Great Robotics Challenge

More than 120 students from Hearst to Dubreuilville to Sudbury put their programming skills to the test

Young robotics enthusiasts from Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario put their knowledge to the test on Wednesday at the 15th edition of the Great Robotics Challenge (Le Grand Défi Robotique).

About 122 students from 17 elementary schools from Hearst to Dubreuilville to Sudbury converged on the Science North Cavern to see who could build and program the most efficient robot.

Le Grand Défi Robotique requires each team to build a robot made from LEGO EV3 and NXT blocks that will see its quality tested during two different contests. These trials will measure the robot’s strength and precision, as well as the success of its programming and level of control by the student.

The nature of the challenges students face in this friendly competition encourages teamwork and ingenuity while initiating them to the world of engineering and technology.

Jeremy Seguin, of St. Antoine in Noelville, and his teammates, Chloe Leblanc, Chloée Beaulieu and Olivia Viau, successfully completed two of four tasks in their final competition. They've been working on the robot for more than three months.

“We have probably more than 10 different programs that we used during this competition,” Seguin said. “It was really fun. We got to meet new people, and test out our skills. I think we did well.”

For the first competition, students were given a heads up as to what their robot needed to do. That way, they could prepare for it. However, the second competition was a “hidden” competition, Seguin said. None of the students had any prior knowledge about what task their robots would have to perform.

“It was difficult,” Seguin said.

Micheline Lacoste, organizer of the competition, said the 15th edition was the largest one yet.

“It's been going well, and the students are always up to the challenge,” she said. “Overall, I think they were all happy with how they did.”

The results from the competition are as follows:

Competition Winners:

Junior Division (Grades 4 to 6)

1st: Les Robots Grenouilles from École Saint-Joseph, Blind River

2nd: Robot Électro from École Georges Vanier, Elliot Lake

3rd: Les Méca-Loups from École St-Antoine, Noëlville

Intermediate Division (grades 7 to 8)

1st : Cyber-Lions from École Ste-Marie, Azilda

2nd : Techno Robo Lynx from École Alliance St-Joseph, Chelmsford

3rd : Les Dragons Digitales from École Ste-Thérèse, Val-Thérèse

Best Banner

Junior Division : Roboartizo from École St-Joseph, Dubreuilville

Intermediate Division: Cyber-lions from École Ste-Marie, Azilda

Best Team Cheer

Junior Division : Robotartizo from École St-Joseph, Dubreuilville

Intermediate Division: Cyber-lions from Robot Mech from École Notre-Dame de la Merci, Coniston

Video Contest

Intermediate Division : Les camé-lions from École Ste-Marie, Azilda

The winners will move onto provincials in Kitchener-Waterloo on April 19.
 


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Arron Pickard

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