The NDSU College of Engineering is scheduled to host the Bison BEST Robotics Competition Nov. 1 and 2 at the Bentson/Bunker Fieldhouse on the campus of NDSU. This is the seventh year NDSU has hosted the event.
BEST, which stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology, offers hands-on, real world, engineering-based experience to middle and high school students. The mission of BEST robotics is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, technology and math through participation in a sports-like science and engineering-based robotics competition.
A total of 15 schools are competing this year. Six weeks ago, each school received an identical kit of equipment and parts and a set of game rules. Each team has designed and built their robot, and will try to outperform other teams’ robots at the competition.
The event consists of two parallel competitions. The first is a robotics game in which four teams compete at once in a series of three-minute matches. The robotics portion of the competition takes place on Saturday. The day’s competition will be streaming live online at www.prtv1.com.
The other competition is for the BEST Award, which includes the delivery of a marketing presentation, design of a team exhibit, and a spirit and sportsmanship component. The majority of the BEST Award categories are judged on Friday.
Engineers and other technical professionals from local industries served as team mentors who advised and guided students through the design and construction of their robot.
NDSU also is scheduled to host the Northern Plains BEST Robotics regional competition Dec. 5-7. The regional championship event will bring in the 36 top teams from eight BEST Robotics competition hubs events in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
For more information about the competition, contact Nancy Rossland at 701-231-7994 or nancy.rossland@ndsu.edu or visit www.ndsu.edu/coe/k_12_outreach/best_robotics.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.