She moved quickly, rounding corners, grabbing balls and depositing them in the goal — far ahead of her opponent, a team of two metal boxes.
Her name is Bigger Red Tool, the winner of DC Cup 2000, a design competition that challenges McCormick students to create and invent specialized robots that can dominate an obstacle course without any help from their designers.
“It’s like a soccer game,” said Noriko Sawanobori, a McCormick and Music senior whose robot had technical difficulties. “They want you to pick up all the balls and get them in the goal on the other side.”
More than 300 people watched the ninth annual design competition — a double-elimination race held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday — from bleachers set up outside the Technological Institute. At stake was a total of $3,500 in addition to other prizes.
McCormick seniors Nadder Sahr, Alina Laurie and Jason Waugh, members of the winning team, wore red hats and Hawaiian shirts as they cheered on their three-wheeled, fire-engine red autonomous robot.
“We wanted to have some team spirit,” Waugh said. “You can have a lot more fun if you come with some pride — even if one of our team members is made out of steel and circuits.”
Waugh’s team earned second place in 1999’s competition, and he said repeat testing and familiarity with the navigating system gave Bigger Red Tool an edge.
“What has really contributed to our success has been testing,” Waugh said. “Too many teams just put their robot down today and saw where it would go.”
DC Cup 2000 marked the end of Engineering Week, a week of festivities celebrating engineering, said Cuong Pham, executive chairman of the design competition. Pham said student teams have worked on developing their robots since Fall Quarter.
McCormick’s competition is different from other schools’ because it is completely student run, organized and fund-raised, said McCormick Dean John Birge.
“The students have put together such creative designs — all different — working toward the same goal,” Birge said. “The course is designed by students and the competition is wide-open as to the types of robots students can create. They have a budget, but there is no specific design.”
Student teams had budgets of up to $300 to build their robots.
Students said the design competition provides them with hands-on experience they do not receive in class.
“DC helps in allowing students to put into practice what we learn in class,” said Kenlip Ong, a member of the team S.P.A.B.K., whose robot split into two machines to defend against opposing robots while picking up balls at the same time. “DC helps us see what engineering can really do.”
Bigger Red Tool received the $2,000 first-place prize. S.P.A.B.K., the second-place winner and winner of the consolation round, received $1,000.
Captain America won third place and $500.
“When all the teams saw Bigger Red Tool in the preliminary rounds, we knew they were on a different level,” Ong said. “They deserved to win. You could see they put a lot of effort into it.”
