June 19, 2008 - Robot Contest Combines Cool Technology with Hot Competition to Stoke Interest in Science, Engineering & Programming among Students

The Del Mar Fairgrounds near San Diego will be overrun with robots on June 21 and 22, thanks to the inaugural International Autonomous Robot Contest (iARoC) co-sponsored by Wintriss Technical Schools, the San Diego Java User's Group, and Sun Microsystems.

The objective of this team-based competition is to build an autonomous, computer-controlled robot that can find its way through a set of fixed obstacles, locate an Infra-Red and visible home station beacon, and trigger a mechanical switch to stop a timer. The fastest time wins. To enable the robots to do all of this, contestants will program Sun SPOTs, small wireless sensor devices. The contest is aimed at students—there are divisions for grades 5-8 and 9-12, plus an "exhibition" division.

"The goal of this competition is to change kids' lives," said Eric Arseneau, principal investigator at Sun Labs. "This is the kind of activity that can get kids interested in technology and excited about the possibilities of programming. I'm glad to see Sun investing in the future of engineering as well as forward-looking technology."

Astonishingly Sophisticated

Sun SPOT controlling an iRobot Create Roomba

Sun is contributing both time and technology to the contestants. Specifically, Sun has provided the competition organizers with Sun SPOT kits, which are distributed to contestants. Each kit includes two full Sun SPOT devices and a base station, as well as development tools, tutorials, sample code and accessories, plus a Roomba Create robot platform. And Sun has graciously donated significant amounts of Mr. Arseneau's time and travel expenses; Eric is personally advising all of the participating high school teams, helping them learn about and explore Sun SPOT capabilities and Java programming techniques.

"I think many people would be amazed by the level of sophistication and proficiency these students have already achieved in Java programming," said Mr. Arseneau. "These aren't kids playing with toys. These are students who design algorithms in their spare time, because they love it."

As an example, Mr. Arseneau cites the team from Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California. "This is a team that many technology companies would be eager to hire right now," he said. "The team leader is already an intern at Sun; one of the technical managers on the team has been an intern at Google for three years; other team members are freshmen and sophomores who were doing Java programming in grade school."

Big Software, Little Hardware, Huge Learning Opportunity

"One reason we chose to participate in the iARoC is the emphasis is on software," said Joshua Paley, AP Computer Science teacher at Gunn High School. "It's big software, little hardware. And the software is primarily Java, which is a language the students are familiar with. This gives students a chance to expand their learning into new areas, using tools they already know."

And what's the motivation for the students? "These are kids who are interested in doing and learning, not puffing up the GPA," said Mr. Paley. "I've offered them nothing in terms of extra credit; I don't need to. One team member has put in 100 hours in the last three weeks—in addition to his coursework—simply because he enjoys it."

According to Mr. Paley, the students are learning far more than the latest tips and tricks for Java programming. "One of the benefits of having a very limited timeframe is that you've got to learn to work effectively with other people," he said. "The students are learning to use team development tools—sometimes we've got three people editing the same file at the same time. And you've got to learn when to take charge and just get the thing done. The contest is a catalyst for teamwork."

Ultimately, It's About Competitiveness

In addition to helping students pursue their technological interests, the iARoC is intended to help generate a higher level of enthusiasm for science and engineering among U.S. high school students.

"We're falling behind in competiveness, and one of the reasons is that our schools are not doing a good job of teaching computer science," said Vic Wintriss, founder of Wintriss Technical Schools, a co-sponsor of the iARoC. "And one of the key challenges is to make programming more enjoyable for students. This contest is a step in that direction."

According to the iARoC official website, "only 26% of U.S. high schools require computer programming courses, and computer programming instruction is generally not offered in grade or middle schools." Wintriss advocates "teaching children these skills before they typically get turned off to science in their early teens—a time when girls are particularly susceptible to opt-out." For more information about the contest, visit the iARoC official website.

Sun SPOT Overview

The Sun SPOT hardware platform is a small, battery operated, wireless device running the Squawk Java Virtual Machine (VM). This VM acts as both operating system and software application platform. Sun SPOT is a very flexible platform – it’s a low-cost, low-power alternative for all types of applications. It’s based on Java so you can write code and deploy it rapidly and quickly modify the hardware. For additional details about Sun SPOT sensors visit www.sunspotworld.com.

Sun SPOT Java Development Kit

The Sun SPOT Java Development Kit includes a complete hardware platform and the Squawk Java Virtual Machine—a small JVM developed at Sun Labs that runs directly on the processor without an intervening OS. It also includes a set of programming tools, including the NetBeans IDE, so even high-level programmers can quickjly write custom embedded applications. The Sun SPOT development kit can be purchased at www.sunspotworld.com.

About Wintriss Technical Schools, Inc.

Wintriss Technical Schools is unique in its mission of teaching computer programming skills to grade school through high school children, preparing them to fill the critical shortage of computer programmers expected within the next ten years. To maintain the U.S. position of scientific leadership, the children of today will need to know how to write, as well as use, the complex software of tomorrow. WTS trains its students in writing computer programs using the popular Java language and object-oriented programming techniques in a fun-filled environment. For more information about Wintriss Technical Schools, visit www.wintrisstech.org.