Robotics competition a path to engineering at MSU

When the Redneck Robotics team from Sun River turned their robot loose in Montana State University’s Shroyer Gym on Friday, it homed in on blue lights lining the playing field’s edge, deftly extended an arm and hit a button, racking up points right away.

"That was amazing," said Douglas MacLeod, a volunteer at the event, called the FIRST Tech Challenge. "They pre-programmed all of that."

MacLeod, a freshman majoring in computer engineering at MSU’s College of Engineering, which hosted the event, helped tally points as the robots scooped up grapefruit-sized balls and launched them through color-coded hoops.

"Endgame! Endgame!" the emcee announced, signaling that the teams had 30 seconds to crane bigger exercise balls into the hoops.

Marshall Swearingen, MSU News Service

Full Story: http://www.montana.edu/news/16692/robotics-competition-a-path-to-engineering-at-msu