CHRISTINA TAYLOR / Scroll
At the third biannual Construct-A-Bot Competition held Feb. 16, judges awrded the Dog Catchers first place with atotal of 735 points.

BYU-I hosts third Construct-A-Bot competition

Adam Clark CLA01010@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

The sounds of cheering and Super Mario Brothers rang out in front of the bookstore last Thursday as five teams and several dozen fans gathered for BYU-Idaho’s third biannual Construct-A-Bot competition.

Kevin Smith, a professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department and organizer of the event, welcomed the crowd.

“We’re excited to have you here,” Smith said. “This event is the result of a lot of hard work … this particular competition is brand new.”

Nathan Dodds, a senior from Patterson, Calif., was the competition’s chief designer. He also served as one of the competition’s referees.

The competition involved six tasks: clearing Lego rocks (50 points), placing Lego dynamite (75 points), moving a Lego trailer (45 points), turning on a light (50 points), pushing a big red can (55 points) and finishing inside a designated garage (100 points).

The referees awarded points for successful completion of each task. The teams had two minutes and 30 seconds per round to complete all six tasks.

Five teams participated, recruited by e-mail earlier in the semester. Smith and Dodds mostly targeted freshmen with undecided majors.

According to the invitation, the competition was intended to “excite BYU-I students about careers in technology and engineering by having a fun robotics competition.”

The robots were built in four two-hour lab times using Lego Mindstorm kits, which cost $200 a piece.

The designs were widely varied, including the dynamic WonderTron with hinging rear wheels, the practical, built-for-speed Leper, and the Dog Catchers’ canine-shaped robot, FIDO.

The competition unfolded in 10 action-packed rounds, with the gathered onlookers cheering each team’s successes and gasping at every breakdown.

In the first round, the Dog Catchers faced off against Team WonderTron, placing the dynamite and retrieving the trailer for a 185-85 point win.

In round two, NerdCon 5 battled it out with Team Milagro. Milagro managed to knock down a precariously placed PVC pipe, blocking NerdCon 5’s garage, but NerdCon 5 still managed to win 170-85.

In round three, the Lepers took advantage of their speed to trump the formerly victorious Dog Catchers 190-100.

The fourth round featured Milagro and WonderTron. Milagro blocked the garage again, and WonderTron suffered a devastating break-apart, losing 215-140.

Round five brought back the undefeated Leper against the undefeated NerdCom 5. Leper tried to turn the light on twice, but failed both times.

As the clock ran down, NerdCom 5 made a mad dash for the garage, but missed by inches. It still won 180-140.

In round six, FIDO returned, but without his doggy head. He and Milagro jousted to knock over the PVC pipe. Milagro’s sturdy design won over and the Dog Catchers found their garage blocked.

Not to be deterred, the Dog Catchers sent FIDO to the garage anyway, and the robotic canine pushed the heavy tube into the garage. It wasn’t enough though, and Milagro won 180-160.

In round seven, NerdCon 5 placed the dynamite perfectly for a 200-155 win over WonderTron.

In round eight, the Lepers failed to place the dynamite three times and suffered a defeat to Milagro, losing 105-240.

Round nine was the Dog Catchers’ chance to shine as they completed every task except lighting the light, winning 240-70 over NerdCom 5

In round 10, the battle-weary robots cleared the rocks and moved the cans, but were too broken down to accomplish much else. The Lepers beat WonderTron 90-80.

Overall, the Dog Catchers won with 735 points, followed closely by Milagro with 720, and NerdCon 5 took third with 620.

The Lepers received a special award for having the Best Mechanical Design, and WonderTron won for having the Most Innovative Design. The Dog Catchers, wearing matching T-shirts (Insane Genius + Robotic Canine of Doom = Dog Catchers), were declared to have the Best Team Spirit.