From the Makerspace to world stage: students take on RoboCup in the Netherlands

This July, students travelled to the Netherlands to compete in the World Championships of RoboCup, an annual autonomous robotics, engineering and programming competition. Eight students, including three recent grads, spent a week in Eindhoven, Netherlands, to test their skills against the best in the world. Our students secured their spot to represent Canada through hard work and their victories at regional competitions throughout the year in Quebec and at St. Andrew's College.

RoboCup spans every continent and focuses on university participants who build robots to complete tasks from soccer playing to cooking in ranked challenges. The SAC students competed in the Junior division of Rescue Maze and Light-Weight Soccer. Students have been working since last September, building robots that can navigate a maze to find 'victims' in a simulated rescue and building Roomba-sized robots that face off in a two-on-two soccer game. This high-level competition has created a fun, competitive challenge that allows students to elevate their skills and tackle real-world applications of their learning. Students were supported on this trip by team mentors, Ms. Balendran, our Maker Educator Specialist, and Dr. Lawrence, a teacher of Computer Engineering.

The team left Toronto late in the evening with bags stuffed to bursting with spare parts, student-designed Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), spare batteries and soldering irons. After an overnight flight and some raised eyebrows at airport security the team spent a full 24 hours in Amsterdam to see the city. The students experienced the historic canals by boat, visited the famous artworks and nautical technology of the Rijksmuseum, reflected on the cost of fascism at the Anne Frank House Museum, and dodged hundreds of bikes grabbing cheese and mayonnaise-covered fries for the road.

A trip south by train brought the team to Eindhoven as canals, cows, fields and windmills swept by. At the competition, students worked long days testing and competing and had time to see robots and technology demonstrations from the companies and university teams in attendance. They learned from the innovation of their peers and marvelled at robots that played soccer against humans, walked on two legs (and only sometimes fell over), automated industry tasks, carried bags and made art and music.

At the RoboCup World Championships, our students faced the toughest competition in the world and ranked a respectable 17th in the maze rescue event and 21st in light-weight soccer. Moreover, the experience was filled with on-the-fly problem-solving, continual improvement of their robots, and moments of joy and celebration while collaborating with their team and other competitors.

Our students met like-minded young engineers from across the world as they competed with teams from other countries in collaborative challenges. SAC students built close connections with teams from Germany, Japan, Egypt, and Australia, exchanging ideas and contact information that will lead to friendships and international connections. These connections were strengthened at the annual Junior party, where students danced and socialized. They handed out Canadian flags, key chains, and stickers made in our Makerspace, and in return, received Brazilian candy, Japanese stickers, Uruguayan tote bags, and tiny Aussie koalas.

The plane ride back was filled with animated discussion from the students (those who were still awake) of future robots, how they can improve next year and how to support the next generation of SAC students to achieve even greater success. Our dedicated, newly-minted Old Boys were talking about ways to support the team from afar at university next year with advice and help, and are already making plans to visit competitions and the SAC Makerspace when they can. The program would not be possible without the support and vision of the school's leadership, our fantastic Makerspace, our Computer Science department, our phenomenally talented and dedicated students and their parents who supported them behind the scenes with encouragement, basement practice spaces, late-night team meetings, and who cheered them on from the sidelines.

Story by Dr. Ben Lawrence