Built with no emotions, programmed only to serve and obey, our wonderous robotic creations may some day rise up against us….until their cheap rechargeable batteries run dry!

Until then, consider helping out with Robofest; MACUL’s student friendly version of Battlebots. Student teams from around the state will be converging on Cobo Hall this coming Thursday, March 19th from noon until 5 pm. Sponsored by Lawrence Technical University, Robofest at MACUL is an official qualifying event for the national competition to be held in May. The event is quite fascinating to watch, especially with the knowledge that students have designed, built, and programmed their robots on all their own.

The only problem is, there’s a lack of human volunteers to support and cheer the robotic athletes on, so if you have an hour to spare at the conference, consider helping out! Follow the link below to lend your assistance to our tiny robotic friends and their makers.

Volunteer for Robofest at MACUL!

Image – http://www.battlebots.com/BattleBots.com/Home/Home_files/shapeimage_3.png

I got my copy of the MACUL Registration book yesterday in the mail, and was instantly drawn to the top of page 2.  In dark bold letters it proclaimed that ROBOFEST (imagine a quasi-futuristic echoing voice over) will be held this year at MACUL on Wednesday, March 5th, the pre-con day. I had only been vaguely aware of the competition, but it wasn’t until I saw it printed in black and white that I started to get excited!

There will be dozens of middle school and high school teams to compete with their completely autonomous creations that will have to solve puzzles, compete in a RoboSumo contest, vie for most beautiful bot in the fashion show, and other challenges. It’s like Robot Wars, only much more creative and exciting since the students have built the robots to complete difficult and varying tasks, rather than just destroy one another. If you’re looking for an excuse to get your students and/or colleagues fired up about MACUL, consider watching a few of the ROBOFEST YouTube videos, or bring a team to MACUL and see if you can qualify for the championship rounds to be held at Lawrence Technical University outside of Detroit in April.