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Upcoming Competitions

Regional Autonomous Robotics Circuit (September 2011 - May 2012)

The Cyber Innovation Center is pleased to partner with Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier Parish Schools, Louisiana Tech University, and Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center in the establishment of the Regional Autonomous Robotics Circuit (RARC).  The RARC is a series of four competitions for students in grades 4-12 that build upon one another.  Teams may compete in one or all, but are encouraged to participate in every one to increase their skills and gain valuable experience.

• Competition I (September 17, 2011 at the Bossier Parish Community College gymnasium)
  This matchup will emphasize power and torque and will feature a 1v1 Sumo competition.  To prepare for the competition, please read the RARC Sumo guidelines for coaches below.  Team registration forms are due to the Cyber Innovation Center on Friday, September 2 along with the $25 non-refundable entry fee.  The team rosters are due on Tuesday, September 6.

RARC Team Registration Form                                 RARC Team Roster

RARC Sumo guidelines for coaches                          Information Packet

• Professional Development Workshop (Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Sci-Port)                                                                                                 This workshop will teach coaches the basics of implementing the NXT robotics program. Participants are encouraged to bring their own robot kit and laptop; however,  Sci-Port does have a limited number of kits and laptops available for use on a first-come,  first-serve basis.  To register for the workshop, please contact Jason Ball from Sci-Port at 318-424-8660.
• Competition II (November 5, 2011 at the Bossier Civic Center)
  This event will require participants to use their robots to autonomously navigate a home and fight fires using light sensors and ultrasonic sensors.

RARC II guidelines for coaches                        RARC II guidelines for students

RARC II Team Roster                                      RARC II Team Registration Form

RARC II Information Packet

• Competition III (February 25, 2012 at the Bossier Civic Center)
  Modeled after the Regional Autonomous Robotics Competition hosted at Benton Middle School in May 2011, this event will accent gears, radios, torque, sensors, and programming.  Teams will program their robots to navigate around obstacle courses.

RARC Competition III Guidelines                      RARC III Registration Form

RARC III Team Roster                                      RARC 2011-2012 Release Form

RARC Competition III Table Pictures

• Competition IV (May 5, 2012 at the Bossier Civic Center)
  The final competition of the 2011-2012 circuit will be the culmination of all previous events.  The challenge itself will remain a secret with clues issued to participating coaches in the weeks prior to the competition.  It will stress problem solving and critical thinking skills.

RARC IV School Registration Form                    RARC IV Team Roster

RARC 2011-2012 Release Form

RARC IV Information Release 1                        RARC IV Release 1 Video Links

RARC IV Information Release 2                        RARC IV Information Release 3

RARC IV Information Release 4                    RARC IV-Using the Ultrasonic Sensor

• Awards
  The RARC partners will recognize the top elementary, middle, and high school teams at each competition with team trophies. The partners will then name the grand champions for the 2011-2012 circuit at the final competition in May.  Each school will earn points based on the performance of its team(s) at each competition.   If schools have multiple teams in a competition, the schools will receive an average of their points for that competition.  Based on the final points tally from all four competitions, the grand champions will be named and awarded prizes and technology awards for the schools.

 

Regional Autonomous Robotics Circuit (September 2012 – May 2013)                             The dates and locations of the 2012-2013 RARC competitions are as follows:

• Saturday, September 29, 2012 at the Bossier Civic Center
• Saturday, November 10, 2012 at the CenturyLink Center
• Saturday, February 9, 2013 at the Bossier Civic Center
• Saturday, May 4, 2013 at the Bossier Civic Center

 

The Regional Autonomous Robotics Circuit is supported by the following organizations:

                              

                   

 

 

Mini-Urban Challenge (February 25, 2012)

The Cyber Innovation Center is very excited to host the regional ION Mini-Urban Challenge.  The Mini-Urban Challenge weaves together ideas from the DARPA Grand Challenge automated car race and the Institute of Navigation’s (ION) own Robotic Lawn Mower Competition.  The purpose of this competition is to challenge high school students to work in teams of 3-10 students to design and operate a robotic unmanned car built from a LEGO^® Mindstorms NXT kit that can accurately navigate through a LEGO^® city.  Students will learn invaluable problem solving and analytical thinking skills while pushing the bounds of their own creativity.  Judges are professors from Bossier Parish Community College, Louisiana Tech University, and Centenary College.

Fourteen high schools registered to participate in this year’s challenge.  The winners are as follows:

• 1st Place: Parkway High School
• 2nd Place: Cedar Creek School
• 3rd Place: Avoyelles Public Charter School
• Best Oral Presentation: West Monroe High School
• Best In Show: Avoyelles Public Charter School

For more information on the ION Mini-Urban Challenge, please visit http://www.ion.org/outreach/muc/

 

Cyber Storm (May 4, 2012)

In partnership with the Cyber Innovation Center, Louisiana Tech University hosted the first-ever Cyber Storm competition in May 2010. Cyber Storm is a “hackfest” that pits two teams of students against each other. They are provided with a set of requirements and defend their networks (and attempt to attack their opponent’s). They periodically receive challenges that earn points if solved.  Spectators are invited to participate, if interested (bring your laptop and an Ethernet cable). In 2011, we provided two spectator networks: one was safe but only allowed spectators to gather information (e.g., sniffing the networks without actually doing anything offensive); the other allowed spectators to mount attacks against both competing teams–but with a catch: the teams could attack back! This competition feeds into larger national network defense competitions.

Click here for information about the 2012 competition.

 

 

Cyber Innovation Center

6300 E. Texas St., Ste. 100, Bossier City, LA 71111
Tel: (866) 380-2746 Fax: (318) 759-1622

 

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