Mike Yole and Jeremy Corrigal were first place winners at the Robot Rumble. (submitted photo/Saskatchewan Polytechnic)
Robot Rumble

Île-à-la-Crosse students sweep robotics competition in Saskatoon

Mar 26, 2019 | 1:51 PM

Students from Rossignol High School in Île-à-la-Crosse received first, second and third place at the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Robot Rumble.

The competition was held March 21 in Saskatoon and consisted of 230 students in 118 teams from 44 high schools across the province. Students from Île-à-la-Crosse were awarded every prize at the Robot Rumble with first-place winners being Mike Yole and Jeremy Corrigal, who won a $1,500 tuition credit to a Sask. Polytech program in the School of Mining, Energy and Manufacturing, a Samsung Galaxy Tab E and $150 cash each. Meanwhile, Delaney Kenny and Erica Arcand took second place and Sayer McCallum was third.

“I think the results are fantastic,” Rossignol teacher Dave Dalton said. “Our kids worked really hard and they put a lot of effort in over the school year and it paid off for them, so it was really impressive.”

Dalton explained the Robot Rumble involved building and programming SUMO robot kits, which were provided by Sask Polytech. Done completely autonomously and without a remote control, the goal of the competition is for one robot to push an opponent’s robot out of a small ring. The robots also need to fit a criteria to compete and need to be fairly small.

In order to win, one robot has to push the other out of the ring. (submitted photo/Saskatchewan Polytechnic)

Dalton believes students at the school were able to beat their competition because they had a good understanding about the mechanics and physics of robots. They also developed a very efficient program as the robot needed to be able to find other robots, push them out of the ring or move from being pushed.

“As soon as you press the go button, they have to think and do everything on their own, which adds that bit of complexity,” Dalton said. “Our kids put a lot of time and effort in. They’re really well versed in the best ways of competing.”

The robotics team at Rossignol High School is open to students once they reach Grade 10. Among this year’s graduation class, Dalton added more than half have been involved with robotics in the last three years. He stated robotics is popular at the school with most of it being done as part of extracurricular programming.

Kenny, who was awarded second place at the Robot Rumble with her partner, said she had been involved in robotics for three years. The Grade 12 student said it was the first time she had ever placed at the event.

“It was great, especially because I placed,” she said. “It was really fun. The people make it fun and enjoyable.”

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno

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