Lawrence Technological University

10/04/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/04/2024 14:24

LTU’s 2025 Robofest will have students design an autonomous parking valet

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Robofest, the youth robotics competition created by Lawrence Technological University professor CJ Chung in 1999, announced the 2025 Game "Robot Parking Valet" during a global Zoom call Friday morning.In the game, a robot "valet" will scan a simulated parking lot for available parking spaces, park and retrieve "vehicles" (black or white boxes) deliver keys and a vehicle to the drop off area, all while avoiding parking aids and other vehicles on the field.Friday's Zoom meeting began with a video recap of the 2023-24 competition year, featuring competitors from across the United Sates and the countries of Algeria, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Macau, Mexico, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Korea, and Taiwan.Now in its 26th season, Robofest is a festival of competitions with autonomous robots offering students the opportunity to have fun while mastering the principles of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics). More than 36,800 students from 35 countries and 18 U.S. states have participated since its inception.Unlike other robotics competitions, Robofest robots must be completely autonomous, controlled only by code programmed by the participants. Barriers to entry are also lower, with a registration fee of just $90 and any small robot platform and programming language are allowed. (Robot kits for Robofest, from LEGO and other manufacturers, start at about $400.) Teams compete in Junior (grades 5-8) and Senior (grades 9-12) divisions.Robofest teams are eligible for Michigan Department of Education robotics competition grants of up to $1,200 per team. All Robofest competitors automatically qualify for a $3,000-a-year Lawrence Tech scholarship. Winning teams are eligible for up to a $20,000-a-year Lawrence Tech scholarship.In addition to the Game competition, other Robofest competition categories include:

  • Exhibition, in which teams have compete freedom to create interactive and intelligent robotics projects-in essence, thinking up a problem, and designing a robot to solve it.

  • RoboMed, in which teams create biomedical robots and devices.

  • RoboArts, in which teams create robots that perform in the visual, kinetic, or performing arts-everything from painting to sculpture to dance to music.

  • BottleSumo, in which teams compete to be the fastest robot to push multiple bottles off a playing field, and then push another robot off a playing field in a head-to-head matchup.

  • Vision Centric Challenge, an advanced machine-vision competition simulating a manufacturing inspection environment.

  • Unknown Mission Challenge, in which teams are presented with a number of tasks the day of the competition and must build and program their robot to accomplish the tasks in just 2 hours.

  • RoboParade, in which robots pull a decorated "parade float" along a parade route. This year's parade theme is "Across the Universe."

Registration is now open for Robofest teams. An Unknown Mission Challenge Scholarship Competition for High School Students and Fall RoboParade event are scheduled for early November. International competitions begin in November, with U.S. qualifier competitions running from February through April. The 2025 Robofest World Championship will be held on the LTU campus in Southfield May 15-17. There will also be workshops for coaches and competitors over the winter. Robofest is always looking for local volunteer host sites for its regional qualifying competitions.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation's top 11% of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation's top 10%. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwest colleges. LTU is also listed in the Princeton Review's "America's Best 390 Colleges 2025," which includes the nation's top 15% of colleges and universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, "theory and practice" education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech's 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.