Two legs good, four legs better. Two legs and two wheels even better still. That was the conclusion from the 2 metre sprint from the Rushcliffe Robot Olympics. STEM club members had been working tirelessly over the last few weeks, building, modifying and testing their robots and it was time to put their designs to the test.
A highly modified two legged design built by a team of year eight students won the first heat in a time of 37 seconds, however there was much controversy as many observers commented that it was not technically a walker (that's one for the higher powers to decide!).
An eight footed and one wheel hybrid built by a team of year nine students won the second heat in a time of 9 seconds, but they were pipped at the post in the final by another year nine design.
The winning team had modified a four legged to design to create a two wheel and two legged robot. What's more they had increased the potential difference to 3V to increase the speed and then used a variable resistor to stop it going too fast and tripping over its own feet.
We were also treated to a demonstration by two teams that also chose to build robots to compete in other events. The first by a team of year 7 students who built a robot that would be able to compete as a power lifter. The design and building of this was totally down to the hard work of the students who came up with some clever solutions to some tricky problems.
The final demonstration was an outstanding 'shot put' robot designed and built by a team of year 8 students.
A huge well done to everyone involved - bring on the next project!
