The Falcon BEST Robotics competition kicks off this Saturday with the announcement of the game secrets, according to Hub director Mohammad Mayyas.

    This is the fifth annual robotics competition held at the University. The BEST Robotics competition is a nation-wide event and allows middle and high school students to get involved with engineering.  

    “The goal is to enable, provide or engage students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related fields,” said Mayyas, who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering.

    After the kick-off, teams made up of students in varying numbers, will have four weeks to design a remote controlled robot that will do the tasks assigned during the kick-off.  

    Each school is given an identical set of parts and game rules with the end goal of outperforming the other robots being submitted by other schools. These robots have to do a number of assigned tasks to win the BEST award.  

    The kick-off will be held in the Perry Fieldhouse.  

    There are 20 schools participating this year, which is four more than last year.

The theme this year is “crossfire.” This is based on firefighting tactics according to the teaser on the University website.  

    “There are soft and technical skills they (participants) will learn, through conducting this event … they know how to deal with diverse students and they will collaborate and learn from each other. Also, communication skills and writing skills in terms of putting your ideas into practice,” Mayyas said.  

    There is a practice day on October 14,  while the actual game day will be held on October 28. Students will have to submit a notebook with their planning and designs the week before Game Day.  

    The playing field is usually a 24 foot long and 24 foot wide playing field, according to the BEST robotics website. Four teams compete per every three minute match.  

    There are five elements to earning the BEST award, according to the Falcon BEST Robotics page on the University’s website: an engineering notebook, a marketing presentation, a team interview, spirit and sportsmanship and robot performance.  

    There were 19 awards doled out during the 2016 competition, with five of those competitors being new that year.  

    To participate, schools build a team and then register with the University.  

    Mayyas said this is an opportunity for kids to get their foot in the door in the engineering field. He said that there were teams last year made up entirely of women.  

    The University is a Hub, which means this competition is on the local level. Schools will be coming from mostly Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.