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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.
*This event has been canceled. Please contact the Office of Admissions at 605-658-6200 if you have any questions.
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
- Robot for the competition: ActivityBot 360° Robot Kit
- Tutorials using C
Training
- Robot Assembly Video
- Simple IDE Installation Video
- Navigation Basics
- Basic Techniques for Robotics Programming Video
- Calibration, Normal Movement and Whiskers Video
- IRandPing Video
- Demonstration Video 1
- Demonstration Video 2