High School Robotic Programming Contest

Out of the computer lab and into the robotic arena, high school programmers will put their skills to the test in a battle of the bots at USD's Muenster University Center. The competition will have high school students programming their USD-provided robots at their schools leading up to a robot-race showdown at USD.

The robotics competition takes place on March 18, 2020 at USD.

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Details

  • Entry Fee: $50 per team, due at competition check-in. Cash or checks only.
  • Robot Kit: USD will provide the first 25 schools with the official robot kit (ActivityBot 360° valued at $250) to program and use in the competition. If desired, teams can also purchase extra robots using the link below. Robot kits must be returned at the end of the competition.
  • Training videos are available at the bottom of this page. Skype training with our staff is also available upon request, and any questions you have can be sent to cs@usd.edu.

Guidelines

  • Students will design a program for a programmable robot based on logical thinking, problem solving skills and high school math and science knowledge.
  • The project should be designed and implemented by team members at their home/school and will be presented at USD during the Robotic Programming Contest.
  • Student teams will have approximately 6-8 weeks to work on their programming project.

Team Composition

  • A representative of the sponsoring high school must serve as the team coach. The coach certifies the eligibility of the contestants and serves as official point-of-contact with the team prior to and during contest activities. A team may have only one coach. Students currently enrolled in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota high schools are eligible.
  • Each team may consist of up to three contestants.
  • Each contestant must be the same student who appears on the registration form.
  • Each school can have multiple teams.

Scoring

Judges will include faculty members of the USD Department of Computer Science.

Awards

First Place

  • USD Housing Scholarship for each junior or senior team member (valued at approximately $2,000 per year)*
  • Medal for each team member
  • Trophy for the team coach

Second Place

  • USD Housing Scholarship for each junior or senior team member (valued at approximately $2,000 per year)*
  • Medal for each team member
  • Trophy for the team coach

Third Place

  • USD Housing Scholarship for each junior or senior team member (valued at approximately $2,000 per year)*
  • Medal for each team member
  • Trophy for the team coach

Fourth through 10th Place

  • USD Housing Scholarship for each junior or senior team member (valued at approximately $2,000 per year)*

*The USD Housing Scholarship represents a 50 percent discount off the cost of a double occupancy residence hall room at USD. The scholarship may be renewed annually for up to four years as long as the recipient remains enrolled at USD as a full-time student and elects to live in a residence hall on the USD Vermillion campus.

 

Information

Robot Information

Training