A national robotics competition featuring student teams from around the country is set to take place in Pittsburgh this weekend.
BotsIQ, which serves as a manufacturing workforce development program from the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Tooling & Machining Foundation, will host the two-day and gladiator-style tournament at Rosedale Technical College on May 19 and May 20.
It's during these two days that 37 student-led teams, many of which helm from Pennsylvania and Ohio, will have their 15-pound robotic creations go head-to-head against each other in an arena fighting area. The robots will use installed tools and weapons to fight against their opponents, which are being remotely operated by the student teams until a victor in a given matchup is determined.
"These are the best of the best teams from regional competitions like BotsIQ,” Michel Conklin, executive director of BotsIQ said in a prepared statement. "We are excited to challenge students in this premier event."
In the past, the National Robotics League’s National Competition hosted this event, though BotsIQ said recent changes in the NRL's leadership allowed for the Pittsburgh-based organization to step in and serve as the event's organizer this year.
During a given year, BotsIQ said over a thousand students are exposed to local companies and shown the in-demand skills that are needed as a result of its programs, skills that many develop as a result of partaking in challenges like these.
