What is RoboRAVE International?
Who can play?
When is it?
Where is it?
What do the robots look like?
What are the robot challenges?
How do I get started?
How much does it cost?
How much can I win?
How can I get help if I need it?
How do I earn points? Who does the scoring?
What do the tracks look like?
What are the workshops like?
Where does RoboRAVE International hold workshops?
Who runs RoboRAVE International? How did it get started?
Who funds RoboRAVE International?
What is RoboRAVE International?
RoboRAVE International is New Mexico’s largest robotics competition for students in grades 3-12. A program of Inquiry Facilitators Inc., RoboRAVE International provides an exciting sports-like competition that gets kids engaged in academics and practicing 21st century workforce skills while gaining access to the world of high tech industry. (R.A.V.E. stands for Robots Are Very Educational.)
We provide two robot challenges, line following and fire fighting. Teams compete at three age levels: elementary (grades 3-5), middle (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). We’re currently working on a high school/university challenge.
Who can play?
Two to four kids make a team. The kids can be from 3rd grade to 12th grade. The oldest player determines the age level for competition.
Coaches manage as many teams as they want but at least one coach is required.
Teams can come from anywhere.
SCHOOLS? YES! (Public, Private, Charter, BIE, home school)
GROUPS? YES! (Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, YWCA)
INDIVIDUALS? YES! (Parents coaching kids)
FROM ANYWHERE? YES! (Any U.S. state, any country)
When is it?
RoboRAVE International is held on the 1st Saturday in May. The night before the competition, RoboRAVE International hosts an Ice Cream Social, where kids, coaches and parents can meet each other, get familiar with the competition venue, participate in the “Fast ‘bot” competition, and EAT lots of ice cream.
Where is it?
The annual competition is held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, in the Fran Hill Exhibit Hall, which provides us up to 106,000 square feet of FUN.
What do the robots look like?
Robots at RoboRAVE International are 100% autonomous. This means a computer program controls the robot actions vs. being operated by remote control.
Robots at RoboRAVE International can have any kind of platform, that is, they can be any type of robot. Here are some common types used by students: Lego RCX, Lego NXT, BoeBot, and Parallax. So our competition is 100% open platform.
What are the robot challenges?
The LINE FOLLOWING Challenge requires the robot to follow a line to a tower, deliver a payload into the tower, and return home, all guided by its own programming. Points are awarded in four 3-minute heats. OPEN to teams in grades 3-12.
In the FIRE FIGHTING Challenge, robots locate four lit candles, stop, and extinguish all four flames in a three-minute heat. Points are awarded in three 3-minute heats. OPEN to teams in grades 6-12.
Middle and high school students can earn extra points before the competition by writing engineering reports, videotaping their robot, blogging, and/or securing a corporate partner’s letter of support, along with its logo to display on the robot.
How do I get started?
To get a team started, a coach must register with RoboRAVE International on our website.
How much does it cost?
It costs $50 to register a robot before February 1st and $100 afterwards. Each robot challenge requires a separate robot.
A robot competition pack, which has everything you will need for the competition is $600.
If you’re from outside of Albuquerque, you’ll also need to consider the costs of traveling to the competition and staying overnight in Albuquerque before the competition.
How much can I win?
Here’s a list of the prizes you can win at RoboRAVE International:
|
1ST PLACE |
2ND PLACE |
3RD PLACE |
LINE FOLLOWING |
$300 |
$200 |
$100 |
FIRE FIGHTING |
$600 |
$400 |
$200 |
Other Awards:
- Highest Scoring Engineering Overview – middle school (Winner: $100)
- Highest Scoring Engineering Report – high school (Winner: $200)
- Highest Scoring Video (Winner: $100)
- Most Corporate Letters and Logos on Robots (Winner: $200/team)
- Wilkinson Award: Awarded to any team that extinguishes all 4 candles during one 3-minute heat. A team can only win the award once a year, but more than one team can win.
- Fastest ‘Bot (Winner: $100)
- Most Popular Robot Name (Winner: $60/team)
- Cutest Robot (Winner: $60/team)
- Education First (EF) Global Trip Award for Coaches – destination to be announced
How can I get help if I need it?
You can get answers to your questions and help for your team from our staff, veteran coaches and players, and from our alumni. Contact us.
You can attend workshops.
If you’re a coach, you’ll want to attend our Coaches Only Workshops, held twice a year in Albuquerque. You can also attend one of our regional Players & Coaches workshops.
If you’re a player, you can attend one of our Players & Coaches Workshops that are offered from September to March.
To find out when and where workshops will be held, visit RoboRAVE International news or contact us.
There are also a lot of resources available to help you.
You can purchase all the materials you need to start a team at our store.
How do I earn points?
You can earn points according to these rubrics.
You can also get points before the competition:
Engineering Report |
Engineering Overview |
Video |
Blogging |
Corporate Partnership Letter/Logo |
Line Following |
Fire Fighting (3000 PTS) |
Banners ? |
“Cute” robot ?
|
Cool Robot Names ? |
Your ideas? |
|
What do the tracks look like?
The Elementary track is a line without any “T” intersections. The robot’s task is to travel from “home” to a tower, deliver ping pong balls, and return “home.” The : ( is a design to turn a robot around if they run off the track. We say, “Hit a Frown, Turn Around!”
The Middle School track has one “T” intersection.
The high school track has two “T” intersections.
What happens at a LINE FOLLOWING Challenge workshop?
At a Coaches Only workshop, coaches will build, program, and test an autonomous robot and learn the nitty-gritty details of competing in the LINE FOLLOWING Challenge so you can prepare your team.
At a Players and Coaches workshop, students and adults will program and test a Lego NXT robot in preparation for the LINE FOLLOWING Challenge
What happens at a FIRE FIGHTING Challenge workshop?
At a Players and Coaches workshop, students and adults will troubleshoot, redesign and test new ideas to win the FIRE FIGHTING Challenge, using different surfaces, programs and platforms.
Where does RoboRAVE International hold workshops?
This map (opens in a new page) shows where we’ve held workshops in the past and where we’re hoping to expand. To find out about current workshops, see our news or contact pam@gotoif.org or Fabian@gotoif.org.
Who runs RoboRAVE International? How did it get started?
Ten years ago, twenty-five high school students and several teachers came together to participate in the first New Mexico RoboRAVE. (R.A.V.E. stands for Robots Are Very Educational.) In 2002 the competition became a program of Inquiry Facilitators Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Russ Fisher-Ives, one of the three teachers that began the competition. The program was rebranded as the RoboRAVE International in 2008. In 2011, almost 800 elementary, middle, and high school students competed with their peers from more than sixty schools across New Mexico, plus Colorado, Mexico and Colombia. RoboRAVE International is now New Mexico’s largest K-12 robotics competition.
The mission of Inquiry Facilitators Inc. is to enhance STEM education through academic competition, teacher professional development, and support of student research.
The RoboRAVE International Staff
Russ Fisher-Ives, President and founder of Inquiry Facilitators, Inc. is director of RoboRAVE International. Russ is a former hard-rock geologist, and retired New Mexico math and science teacher of twenty-three years. He was New Mexico Host Committee Director of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Albuquerque, raising and managing a budget of about 2.2 million dollars that resulted in bringing more than 5,000 international visitors to the city for eight days. He is also one of the three teachers that founded the RoboRAVE International in 2001.
Fabian Lopez, Co-director of Robotics Education for post-secondary and Workshop Facilitator. Fabian is Professor of Electronics and Robotics at Central New Mexico Community College. Fabian is also one of the three founding educators of the RoboRAVE International.
Pam Feather, Co-director of Robotics Education for K-12 and Workshop Facilitator. Formerly a high school teacher, Pam is now an engineer with Hewlett Packard.
Sally Davis, RoboRAVE International Coordinator, has been an elementary school teacher, a math intervention specialist, and the executive director of a non-profit organization.
Who funds RoboRAVE International?
We have SPONSORS who provide resources for the operation and production of RoboRAVE International.
We also have PARTNERS who contribute materials, people, time, space, letters of team endorsement, etc.
And we have LETTER AND LOGO PARTNERS who write letters of endorsement for robot teams and provide their logo to be shown on the team robot.
Sponsorship does not cover all our costs. We need donors who will help us fund teams, schools, communities, and the competition itself.
For information about becoming a SPONSOR, PARTNER, or LETTER AND LOGO PARTNER, call 1-888-527-2007 or email russ@gotoif.org.
Photos courtesy Joanne Schmidt, Rio Images