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Robo-Cup Triumph

RoboCup Junior is an innovative educational initiative designed to introduce primary and secondary school students to the fascinating world of robotics. This global competition allows young minds to engage in project-oriented learning that not only sharpens their STEM skills but also promotes essential life skills like teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanship. At Santa Maria College, our students recently took part in this event, showcasing their creativity, problem-solving abilities, and resilience.

At its core, RoboCup is an international effort aimed at advancing research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics. The competition presents a standard problem where participants integrate various technologies to create solutions. RoboCup Junior, specifically tailored for younger students, bridges classroom learning and real-world application, preparing students for a future in our increasingly technology-driven world.

RoboCup Junior offers four exciting challenges:

On-Stage: Teams design, build, and program robots to perform a dance or a theatrical presentation.

Rescue Line: Robots follow a winding line to a designated rescue area, overcoming obstacles and navigating complex paths.

Rescue Maze: Robots must navigate a maze to locate and rescue a ‘victim’.

Soccer: Robots play a game of soccer, requiring advanced programming and teamwork.

This year, Santa Maria College proudly entered six teams into the RoboCup Junior competition with outstanding results:

  • Rescue Line: Two teams of Year 6 students participated, with one team making it to the final.
  • Novice Performance: A Year 5 team and a Year 7 team both reached the final.
  • Open Performance: A Year 8 team secured second place, while our Year 10 team triumphed, taking first place!
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For many students, the highlight of RoboCup was accepting the various challenges, showcasing their creativity, and solving problems under pressure. The competition was a testament to their resilience and technical skills, which they had honed during weekly robotics club meetings. In total, 17 students participated, with around 30 regularly attending the club.

In the Rescue Line challenge, our students programmed robots to navigate a simulated chemical spill to rescue their ‘victim’. Competing in the Primary division, our teams demonstrated exceptional focus and technical prowess.

In the Performance challenge, our students’ robots performed synchronised dances and theatrical presentations, impressing the judges with both their artistic flair and technical interviews. Competing in both the Novice and Open divisions, our teams delivered performances that combined creativity with rigorous programming.

Looking Forward

RoboCup was more than just a competition; it was an experience that empowered our students and prepared them for future challenges in their academic and personal lives. We are immensely proud of the students’ achievements and look forward to more successes in the future.

Student Insights

I participated in the Rescue Line, and at first, it was very nerve-racking, but then I got more confident when our robot worked, and it was a very fun experience. One highlight for me was when we got into the finals. Monika 
 
My friends and I found the competition a fun way to learn coding, build creations and create new ideas. It was a way to improve the skills we had already learned and let our ideas run wild. My highlight was designing the duck sculpture and doing the choreography with my friends. The funniest part was when we moved the motor and its head, and it started wiggling. It was also cool to see the catapult working in action. We also loved watching the other performances as they gave us new ideas we hadn’t thought of before. Indiana 
 
This weekend was wonderful, and seeing that our work paid off was lovely. While our final performance may not have been flawless, our robots were complex, and the work we all, especially Issy, put in was truly admirable. Being able to represent the school and do so well also felt nice, and I’d like to express my gratitude to those who helped us get to this point. Stephanie 
  • Engineering, Featured, Innovation, robotics, SantaMariaCollege

Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation.  Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world.  Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD.  We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.

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