 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Don’t Miss Junior RoboCup Major Keary |
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Interact, an initiative of the Victorian Government and now six years old, was established to organise an annual multimedia festival that attracts many international visitors. After the first - and singularly successful - program, Interact has been associated with the PC show and is responsible for some of the big-name events this year.
One of Interact's initiatives has been the encouragement of RoboCup competitions in Victoria; teams of four-legged robots play soccer games. There are different RoboCup "divisions", one of which is RoboCup Junior. This year the RoboCup Junior 2001 Australia finals will be held 7-8 September. For some months Interact has been proactively involved in the establish-ment of training sessions in secondary schools in both metropolitan and regional areas of Victoria. The program is an ideal way for country students to participate using cutting-edge technology. A Web site, http://www.robocupjunior.org.au, provides a link with other robotic enthusiasts. There are twelve training centres in Victoria and others interstate (at least one in each capital city).
Interact's achievements in the field have had little exposure in the media, but are part of a long-term commitment. Interact 2001 will provide an opportunity for some one hundred local junior robotics teams to compete against the best in the world during September. The venue will be Dallas Brookes Hall; check http://www.robocupjunior.org.au or http://www.interact2001.com.au for details.
The robotic events are not confined to RoboCup, but also includes rescue robots (twenty-five teams will compete). Last year Robin Murphy, a world authority on the application of robotics to rescue work, was at Interact with her working robots, Kangaroo and Joey. As the names suggest, one carries the other; when Kangaroo cannot proceed further the Joey is deployed. Joey, being much smaller, is able to penetrate confined spaces and send information back to Kangaroo, which in turn relays the data to its controller. As a matter of interest, the Coroner who sat on the Thredbo inquest observed that, if rescue robots such as Kangaroo and Joey had been used, two more lives would have been saved. The rescue events are designed to encourage students to experiment with design and programming techniques, thus building up an interest that may be carried forward to their tertiary studies.
Robotics has a remarkable potential for education, encouraging students from late primary through to tertiary to become involved in a range of science disciplines, including programming. It also teaches students to work co-operatively on team projects, and helps develop their communication skills.
Reprinted from the September 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
