Carnegie Mellon hosts 2nd International Botball Robotics Challenge in Qatar

Omar Bin Khattab Scientific School won the challenge with the highest overall score, compiled from the tournament rounds as well as the pre-competition documentation of their work. Al Khor International School took 2nd place, and 3rd place went to Amna Bint Wahhab Independent S.S.G.

Doha College, Amna Bint Wahhab Independent S.S.G., American School in Doha, Omar Bin Khattab Scientific School, Al Khor International School and International School of Choueifat took part in this year's challenge to showcase their autonomous robots, which were created with the help of Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Teams from each school designed, developed, programmed and documented their robots. The teams competed against each other on a playing field the size of a ping-pong table in a high energy, non-destructive tournament.

'I am really glad our robots worked. You cannot describe how it feels to be number one. I am very happy because we are the champions now,' said a young team member from Omar Bin Al Khattab Scientific School.

International experts Elizabeth Whitewolf, Botball Production Manager; Arne Suppe, Research Programmer, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; Justin Carlson, Teaching Assistant, Carnegie Mellon Qatar; and Mohamed Mustafa, who organized the 2nd International Botball Challenge in Doha, judged the competition.

'The winning team had a great robot; it was designed well and had great engineering behind it. Not only that, the programming was amazing,' said Whitewolf. 'The robot homed in on the scoring objects, picked them up, sorted them and dumped them where they belonged. That's an amazing feat for only seven weeks of preparation.'

Botball is a U.S.-based organization that introduces robotics to high schools. Student teams are equipped with a Lego© Mindstorm robot, along with instruction on how to program it to move autonomously through a course. The programming sessions conclude with a challenge-student teams are pitted against one another to see whose robot completes the course. The winning team also must demonstrate the work they've done in order to program their robot.

'Botball is a great way to learn about robots,' said Chuck Thorpe, Dean, Carnegie Mellon Qatar. 'Even better, it's an excellent way to get hands-on experience with math and engineering and teamwork. Plus, it's a lot of fun, both for the students and for the spectators. We're very pleased with all the wonderful robots the students have built throughout the program.'

An intensive two-day robotics workshop was arranged by Carnegie Mellon Qatar seven weeks prior to the competition at the university's campus. During the workshop, participating schools were given the necessary background and expertise to build and program robots. In the following seven weeks, students worked on their own to build and program robots, guided by their teachers and mentors.

'The teams showed magnificent designs and creativity in preparing their robots this year. I look forward to next year's tournament, where I am sure we will see more teams participating and more exciting designs,' said Mustafa, Botball judge and organizer.