The University of Akron College of Engineering Robotics Team earned four medals in the International RoboGames in San Francisco last month. Noted as a hub of brilliant minds from around the globe, these games featured about 80 competitions and attracted more than 500 contestants from 21 different countries.

During its first year of participation in the competition, UA’s team earned a first-place gold medal with its maze-bot, which met the challenge to autonomously and quickly maneuver through a maze. The team’s 340-pound combat robot “Juggernaut” and its tether-bot space elevator both placed second in their respective categories. Finally, the team placed third with “Z-Tank,” a 3-kilogam, autonomous sumo bot.

Led by faculty adviser Dr. Tom Hartley, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Greg Lewis, director of electrical and computer engineering technical services, RoboGames student participants from UA included:

• electronics engineering technology major Jeff Armstrong of Brecksville;
• computer engineering majors Tom Gambone of Berlin Center and Corey Wunderlich of Fleming; and
• electrical engineering majors Andrew Balfour of Nashport,
• Michael Beavers of Canton,
• Joseph Davis of Wadsworth,
• Kyle Hamblin of Barberton,
• Brian Haynes of Wadsworth,
• James Kirkwood of Stow,
• Mike Mclntire of Shreve,
• Michael Prechel of Getzville, NY,
• Nicholas Sanelli of Hinckley,
• Tom Vo of Bedford (grad student) and
• Rick Williams of Stow.

“These students exemplify the level of proficiency and ingenuity for which our College of Engineering students are recognized,” says Dr. Jose Alexis De Abreu-Garcia, professor and chair of the UA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. ”The team members’ high-performance robotic innovations earned them four medals in their first year of participation in the competition, which is exceptional.”

Described as the world’s largest robot competition by Guinness World Records, the event features combat robots, walking humanoids, soccer bots, sumo bots and kung-fu performing androids competing in 51 different events. Now in its sixth year, the event earned a coveted spot on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top Ten.

Earlier this year, UA’s robotics team placed third in the Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) Robo-Olympiad in March and earned second and third place wins in the 3kg sumo-bot competition at the National Robotics Challenge in Marion, Ohio in April.

The UA College of Engineering experienced a 25 percent increase in student enrollment between 2004 and 2007, making it the fourth fastest growing college of engineering in the United States (among the 150 largest; data source: American Society for Engineering Education) and the fastest growing in the state. The college’s current enrollment of 1,926 undergraduate students represents a 39.3 percent increase in enrollment between fall 2004 and fall 2008.

Additional coverage:

• The Marietta Times: "Fleming, Ohio, teen savors success at RoboGames"

See also:

• UA's College of Engineering

Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477