Then
d
n
a
NOW
THE FUTURE OF ROBOTICS
COMPETITIONS
by Tom Carroll
There have been interesting threads on the Seattle Robotics Society’s
(SRS), the Portland Area Robotics Society’s (PARTS), and the Dallas
Personal Robotics Group’s (DPRG) websites lately concerning the state of
experimental and home-brew robotics, and the many types of competitions
available to amateur robot builders.
The SRS’s Robothon, the PARTS PDXbot and BotFest, and the DPRG’s Roborama are just a
few of the many local contests and exhibitions
around the country that both robot enthusiasts
can show off what interests them and the general
public can enjoy. One of the highest anticipated
events each year is RoboGames, held in the San
Francisco Bay area. It is the largest and most
attended of all robot events, including industrial
robotics. Figure 1 is a group photo of some of the
attendees and winners at the 2006 RoboGames.
The 2010 event will be held in San Mateo, CA on
April 23-25.
Certainly, everyone has their own ideas of
what is most important in experimental robotics,
but there are clear paths of interest that always
seem to emerge. I took some time at Robothon in
Seattle Center this past October to talk with a few
robot builders. Some people felt that interest in
robot building was falling off whereas others felt
that the availability of low-cost, ready-built robots
gave enthusiasts an easy way to get into the
hobby of robotics and the numbers of interested
people were actually growing.
Everyone seemed to agree that the sluggish
economy and tight discretionary money available
to home-brew builders is changing people’s
spending habits. The print media is feeling the
crunch, and magazines that keep us abreast of the
latest information on experimental robot building
FIGURE 1.
The 2006
RoboGames at
Fort Mason
Center.
SERVO 01.2010 77
