They have names like Hammer Time, Junk Yard Dog and Cow Catcher. They’re Battle Bots, robots designed for combat, and they’ll be doing battle at Lake Superior College (LSC) on May 16.

Lake Superior College will host the First Annual Northeast Robotics Competition on Wednesday, May 16. The event will feature 15-pound combat robots competing in a 12-foot by 12-foot plexiglass arena. Colleges and high schools from across the state have been invited to compete. Teams from the University of Minnesota, Lake Superior College, Pine City High School, and Proctor High School are already registered to participate.

The event will take place in the Commons at Lake Superior College’s Trinity Road Campus. Competition starts at 10 a.m. and continues until a champion is crowned. The event is free and open to the public.

According to LSC instructor Mike Koppy, robot competitions have proven to be an excellent way to interest students in manufacturing and engineering programs. Earlier this year, students enrolled in LSC’s Integrated Manufacturing program built robots designed to pick up, transport, and unload eggs, without breaking them. “Students took the challenge very seriously, and they learned a lot, ” Koppy reports.

The competition is sponsored by the Midwest Robotics League and LSC Integrated Manufacturing program.

Photo caption: Lake Superior College students John Hendriekson, Mark Tero Florentz, and Matt Hjelden discuss modifications to “Stinger,” their battle bot.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 3:05 pm and is filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.