Competitive Robotics Takes Hold

Joe Favorito checks out the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Championships, a new phase that has brands taking notice…

This past month as much of America was fixated on college basketball and the rest of the world was following everything from Formula 1 to Cricket World Cup, a large crowd crammed its way into Bridgewater-Raritan High School in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

There were painted faces and cheerleaders, cowbells and mascots, rival fans chanting at each other, ear splitting techno music, a roaring emcee, referees in the requisite striped shirts and lots and lots of tension filled competition.

It was not wrestling or hoops or even a dance competition. It was the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Championship, with over 30 high schools from the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware competing for best in region with their self-created, highly organised and ultra-customized robots doing a myriad of head to head tasks.

The regional competition was the latest in a robotics “season,” which runs from February through April. Teams as large as 100 students or more work on various aspects of the presentation, from video and animation to programming and design, each helping to task and tell the story around the assigned robotic project. The winners move on again to St. Louis and the Edward Jones Dome later this spring, where over 30,000 students, parents and coaches from around the world will gather for one of the most inspiring, creative and interactive team events that will be held in the Dome all year.

The overall program is entitled FIRST, standing for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and was the brainchild of Segway PT inventor Dean Kamen 25 years ago with the goal of boosting science in the way that high school’s glorify sports.

Each team trains for weeks many using the designated program to have its robot perform a series of complex tasks against another table of robots, with this weekend’s competition set up in teams of three. The robot stacks crates and tops a total of six off with a garbage can to complete the set. The more stacks the more points. If you work together to do a stack, robot on robot, that’s even more points.

However what is more amazing is the sense of fun, competition and creativity that each of the teams have throughout the event. From posters to mascots to elongated signs, the students and their supporters cheer with a fervor that would match any athletic event. Everyone who goes sees the best of what robotics has to offer…healthy competition with a mosaic of children from every ethnic and social background in a healthy competition devoid of many of the trappings that childhood events have these days. 

For brands looking to activate against an audience that understands both team competition and gaming, robotics is also a unique answer for engagement. Those brands…Bloomberg, ADP, Comcast Universal, Johnson & Johnson, DuPont, Novartis, DOW, even AVON (empowering teams of young girls) were on display all weekend.

Now it is not to say that analytics and team competitions like robotics should be at the detriment of traditional sports or even E-gaming. There is a place for both, and the two actually complement each other very well. However in a society today where young people are getting more and more technologically savvy, competitions like mind sports and robotics can fill a growing need, keeping young people active and involved and finding ways to stimulate the mind as well as the body.

Is it the start of a long term trend of cyber warriors, or a fad like crystal radios and rocketry was in the 1960’s or 1970?s? The jury is still out, but judging from the crowds, the engagement and the spirit of competition, the “sport” of competitive robotics is here to stay, and that is not a bad thing for a young group who wants to grow into a well-rounded and healthy adult.