The West Virginia Robotics Alliance has hosted multiple competitions so far this year with record numbers of teams participating in the activity.
FAIRMONT – The West Virginia Robotics Alliance has hosted multiple competitions so far this year with record numbers of teams participating in the activity.
The West Virginia Robotics Alliance is managed by the Education Resource Center (ERC) team at the NASA Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility in Fairmont. The ERC is funded by a grant from NASA and managed by Fairmont State University.
“We manage numerous robotics initiatives, run qualifying and championship tournaments, offer summer camps across the state, provide teacher and coach trainings, and host international robotics competitions,” said John Holbrook, lead for competitive robotics with the ERC.
This season, major robotics events included a weekend of VEX U, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX IQ Competition state championships hosted at Fairmont State University. The VEX Family of programs, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, provides opportunities for elementary through university students.
“We have broken all records for number of teams participating, and our tournaments have been going very well,” ERC Program Manager Todd Ensign said.
During the VEX U competition on March 10, nine teams from six states competed, making the alliance’s event one of the larger qualifying events in the U.S. this season.
“Our two qualifying spots at the world championship went to the Rochester Institute of Technology and Northern Kentucky University,” Holbrook said. “West Virginia’s three VEX U teams – from Fairmont State, WVU, and BridgeValley Community & Technical College – also received world championship invites at the end of the season based on their scores in the skills challenge.”
The weekend continued with the VRC and VIQC state championships on March 11 and 12. Throughout this season, there were 158 registered VRC teams in West Virginia competing across 23 regular-season events held throughout the state between November and February. Twenty-eight middle school and 40 high school teams qualified to compete at the state championship. Fourteen teams – seven middle school and seven high school – will represent the state at the VRC World Championship in Dallas in late April.
As for VEX IQ, there were 225 registered teams in West Virginia this season, competing across 24 regular-season events held throughout the state between November and February. Fifty-one elementary school and 30 middle school teams qualified to compete at the state championship. Twenty-six teams — 16 elementary and 10 middle school — will represent the state at the VIQC World Championship in Dallas in early May.
More recently, the WV Robotics Alliance hosted the 2023 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) State Championship at Fairmont State University. In the FLL Challenge program, which is for students ages 9-14, there were 48 registered teams in the state this season, of which 42 competed at the state championship. Preparatory scrimmages were organized by partner FIRST Robotics Competition teams in Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Putnam County throughout the fall and winter. Teams advanced to invitational events in multiple states.
The event also included an “expo” for FIRST LEGO League Explore (FLLE) teams. In FLLE, teams of students ages 6-8 produce a poster and mechanized model related to a yearly theme and share their accomplishments at an expo. Twelve teams presented at the state championship expo, with further expos to be organized this spring.
“Who knew that IV&V would become a world-class robot tournament provider when we ran our first FLL event so many years ago,” Ensign said.
The season will continue with two large events held at Fairmont State University. The Robotics Alliance will host the WVSSAC Robotics State Championship, held Saturday, April 15. More than 20 high schools from across West Virginia will participate to be recognized as state champions in robotics at the varsity level.
Then, on May 19 and 20, the WV Robotics Alliance will host Aerial Drone Championship: Dragonfly. Sixty-two teams from eight states and the District of Columbia will participate, each of which advanced to the championship based on their performance at local drone events throughout the season. Dragonfly is one of four Aerial Drone Competition Championship events held throughout the U.S. in April and May. Each championship is named after a different NASA mission.
For more information about the West Virginia Robotics Alliance, visit their website at https://wvrobot.org.
For more information, contact:
Clarissa R. Cottrill
Communications Specialist
NASA IV&V Program Strategic Communications Office
Clarissa.r.cottrill@nasa.gov