Robotics competitions in Hamburg: Winners are alliances from Berlin and Brandenburg as well as Rockenhausen and Berlin

VRC und VIQC German Masters Winners:

▪ Winners of the VEX Robotics Competition: Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium (Berlin) and Heinitz-Gymnasium (Rüdersdorf)
▪ Winners of the VEX IQ Challenge: IGS Rockenhausen (Rhineland-Palatinate) and BEST-Sabel (Berlin)
▪ Almost 35 teams met at the German finals from 6 to 8 March
▪ Students from IGS Rockenhausen (Rhineland-Palatinate) and Ernst-Abbe Gymnasium in Oberkochen secured tickets for the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas

Hamburg, March 8, 2024. Hectic activity has reigned over the past three days at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg). Around 150 pupils from general education schools and vocational schools from all over Germany worked on robots that they had designed themselves over the past few months. Their goal: For the final rounds of the German VEX robot competitions, they wanted to get the best out of their babies. A total of 14 trophies were up for grabs, which were ultimately awarded to twelve different teams. 

Winners of the cooperative tournament competitions at the German Masters  In the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC), the Alexander-von-Humboldt Gymnasium (Berlin) and the Heinitz-Gymnasium (Rüdersdorf) prevailed. The VEX IQ Challenge (VIQC) was won by an alliance of IGS Rockenhausen  (Rhineland-Palatinate) and BEST-Sabel educational institutions (Berlin). 

Luca Eckert (from left) and Jonas Köhler (IGS) as well as Tim Heintze and Konrad Möhring (BEST-Sabel) won the VEX IQ Teamwork Challenge

The German Masters gives you the opportunity to qualify for the VEX Worlds. These „World Championships“ will take place from April 25 to May 3 in Dallas, Texas, with 1,000 teams from 50 countries. The prerequisite for flying overseas: winning the Excellence Awards. A jury awards them on the basis of the performance in the competition and other criteria such as the capabilities of a robot in comparison. Students from IGS Rockenhausen (High and Middle School) and the Ernst-Abbe-Gymnasium in Oberkochen (Middle and Elementary School) will travel to Dallas. 

Tobit Gries (from left), Sebastian Gasior and Jakob Bachmann from IGS Rockenhausen snatched the Excellence Award/High School

The worldwide competitions of the Robotics Education &  Competition (REC) Foundation, which is based in the USA, are organized in Germany by the Hamburg-based association  roboMINT. 

The VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) is open to students from the age of eleven . A team consists of at least two students, it competes in alliances  against other teams. The aim of a game in autonomous and remote-controlled  driving modes is, among other things, to get as many tripballs as possible into your own goal or into  your own offensive zone.  

Till Schneider (l.) and Vincent Fratzscher (Heinitz-Gymnsaium) won the trophy in the VRC team competition

The VEX IQ Challenge (VIQC) is open to students between the ages of eight and 15. A team consists of at least two students, it competes together with another team. One of the goals of the game is to convert as many blocks as possible into goals. Points are also awarded if the robot is parked in the „Supply Zone“ at the end of a match.  

Anes Rebahi (from left), Nico Menge, Karl Steinbach, Maximilian Marschner and Erik Tunsch (Alexander-von Humboldt-Gymnasium) won the VRC team competition

CoderZ Announces CoderZ League World Champions

Students in grades four through 12 throughout the United States and the world joined in the cloud-based robotics tournament.

DERRY, N.H. (PRWEB) MARCH 02, 2021

CoderZ today announced the winners of the all-new CoderZ League: the Virtual Cyber Robotics Competition (formerly the Cyber Robotics Coding Competition or CRCC). Students in grades four through 12 throughout the United States and the world joined in the cloud-based robotics tournament. Three teams from each of the tournament’s two levels – Junior and Pro – became CoderZ League World Champions.

Beginning coders, schools new to the competition, and students in grades five through eight competed at the CoderZ League Junior level using Blockly. The three CoderZ League World Champion teams were the following:

  • The Legend Z team from Union High School (Pennsylvania)
  • The Avenues FLL MG team 1 from Avenues the World School (New York City)
  • The Method K20 all-girls team from Methodist Girls High School located (Ghana)

The CoderZ League Pro level was for students in grades seven through 12 who could use Blockly or Python. The three CoderZ League World Champion teams were the following:

  • The Virginia Beach ATC team from Virginia Beach City Public Schools (Virginia)
  • The Explosion team from School 1329 (Moscow)
  • The RoboGriffins team from the nonprofit Philadelphia Robotics Coalition (Pennsylvania)

During the tournament missions, students competed on the award-winning CoderZ Cyber Robotics Learning Environment, a cloud-based platform featuring a graphical simulation of LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots. The students used the virtual 3D robots to complete the tournament challenges or “missions.”

“These six teams outperformed competitors from 18 countries, 29 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico,” said Ido Yerushalmi, CEO of CoderZ. “In all, over 150,000 students participated in the CoderZ League; amid the disruption and distress of 2020, all of them dedicated themselves to learning STEM, coding, tech literacy and soft skills like critical thinking and collaboration as they competed. We are so immensely proud of them all.”

Even before the pandemic hit, CoderZ’s successful engagement of students in cyber robotics learning had made its virtual coding tournaments an international phenomenon. In 2019, the vast majority (98%) of surveyed educators stated that the content delivered by CoderZ League’s predecessor, the CRCC, provided a foothold for computer science and STEM learning. And a whopping 100% reported that their students were engaged. “Our model works for both in-class and remote learning,” said Yerushalmi. “So, no matter where students are, CoderZ makes robotics far more accessible to them now and in the future.”

“Due to the pandemic, we were unable to meet in person and construct a physical robot, so students who wanted to continue growing their robotics skills were given the option of participating in CoderZ,” said physics teacher Sean Martin who served as the team coach for RoboGriffins. The RoboGriffins team formed through the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting robotics programs in the city’s public high schools.

Most of the students on the team had previously focused on the mechanical side of robotics. “Students were eager to learn more about coding as it is a crucial component to our usual robotics activities,” Martin explained. “What appealed to us the most about CoderZ was that whatever code you wrote had an instantaneous effect on the robot. There was no waiting for things to compile, and there were no abstract exercises. You wrote a code, and immediately saw what the robot did as a result. The fact that the visual presentation is as appealing as it is certainly helped too.”

The RoboGriffins team took advantage of other CoderZ offerings before writing their world championship code. About 12 students on the team also completed the Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge. In addition, most of those 12 completed at least three units in either the Cyber Robotics 102 curriculum or the Python Gym course.

“School closures due to COVID-19 were what led to us seeking a virtual platform like CoderZ in the first place,” said Martin. “You allowed us to continue our work of spreading knowledge of robotics in spite of the lockdowns and we are very grateful for it.”

Educators who would like their students to learn or refine their coding skills in a fun, competitive format can still sign them up for the CoderZ League Sprint Challenge, which will run until March 31, 2021.

About CoderZ
CoderZ is an innovative and engaging online learning environment. Developed for students in grades 2 and above, the gamified STEM solution allows student to work at their own pace, easily programming real and virtual robots from anywhere in the world. The platform enables students to acquire computational thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills, together with coding and STEM learning, all via a flexible and scalable virtual solution. For more information go to http://www.gocoderz.com.

Team from Brooklyn, New York, and Naples, Italy, wins XPRIZE and Google’s STEM-based competition for kids, “MOONBOTS”

Two Cousins, Ages 10 and 12, Will Travel to Japan to Meet Google Lunar XPRIZE Teams

LOS ANGELES (September 24, 2015) – XPRIZE, the global leader in incentivized prize competitions, and Google today announced Moonshot, cousins ages 10 and 12 from Brooklyn, New York, and Naples, Italy, is a grand prize winner in the 2015 MOONBOTS Challenge, also considered the “Google Lunar XPRIZE for Kids.” MOONBOTS is an international competition that encourages the next generation of space explorers and innovators by inviting kids ages 8-17 to design, create and program their own lunar rover, based on a legend or theory that inspires them about the moon.

Moonshot virtual team members Dario Cipani, 12, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y with his mom and team captain Sara Cipani; and Sasha Cipani, 10, who lives in Naples, Italy; didn’t let distance and time zones get in the way of their shared love of the moon. They worked together online from their respective countries to build and program a one-of-a-kind simulated lunar mission using the LEGO MINDSTORMS robotic platform. Their inspiration was Luna, Dario’s sister and Sasha’s cousin, and the idea that the moon we all share can bring people together — just as it brought their family together.

Next month, they cousins will take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan together to meet the official teams competing for a $30 million dollar Google Lunar XPRIZE, a global competition to land a privately funded robot on the moon.

“Team Moonshot showed ingenuity and innovation in their robotic building and programming, and were creative and imaginative in the way they interpreted their moon ‘tale,’” said Chanda Gonzales, senior director, Google Lunar XPRIZE. “Dario and Sasha were incredibly engaging, and their mission will provide inspiration for kids all over the world.”

In addition to developing their lunar rover, the cousins contributed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education by sharing their innovation with underprivileged children through Associazione Quartieri Spagnoli Onlus – a nonprofit organization in Italy.

The kids’ competition attracted 235 teams from 29 countries, who entered phase one by submitting a written or video entry about what inspires them about the moon. Teams are comprised of 2-4 members (ages 8-17) and one team captain at least 18 years old. A panel of judges selected 30 teams to qualify for phase two, each of which was provided one of three platform systems (LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, VEX IQ, MECCANO Meccanoid G15 KS) to build and program a unique simulated robotic mission based on the moon tale they submitted in phase one. In addition, they were asked to contribute to STEM education by sharing their innovation with children and adults in their community.

Along with Moonshot, other grand prize winners are: Mecaliks of Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico; Team GalacTECHs of Tustin, Calif.; and Linked Lunas of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Since 2010, MOONBOTS has challenged thousands of young people from around the world. In addition to XPRIZE and Google, competition partners include FIRST® LEGO® League, Cogmation Robotics, VEX Robotics Inc., Spin-Master Ltd., the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (RECF), GeekDad, GeekMom, Robomatter Incorporated and Dexter Industries. More information, including the full list of finalists, can be found at moonbots.org.

 

About the Google Lunar XPRIZE 

The $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE is an unprecedented competition to challenge and inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration. To win the Google Lunar XPRIZE, a privately funded team must successfully place a robot on the moon’s surface that explores at least 500 meters and transmits high-definition video and images back to Earth. For more information, visit lunar.xprize.org/.

 

About XPRIZE 
Founded in 1995, XPRIZE is the leading organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prizes in five areas: Learning; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences.  Active prizes include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, and the $7M Adult Literacy XPRIZE. For more information, visit xprize.org.