Alexander Rozier, age 11, programmed two Lego Mindstorms robots to play soccer via RoboLab, a graphical programming language developed by Tufts University. The robots were part of the Junior Division of RoboCup that was held in June in Germany. A total of 1,500 students comprising 260 junior teams from 22 countries participated.
The junior-level contest offers the same three challenges every year--soccer, rescue and dance--so that children can build on their robotics experience from one year to the next, said Elizabeth Sklar, a founding chair of RoboCup and Rozier's mother.
Sklar runs a program out of New York City's Brooklyn College in which undergraduates work with teachers in elementary and middle schools to integrate robotics into math and science curriculum for their students. "Now students who have been participating are going off to college...and majoring in engineering and computer science," Sklar said.
Photo by Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com
