Robocup Jr - Ministry of Inspiration

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What is Robocup Jr?

Robocup Jr is a robotics competition for New Zealand school aged students. There are three different branches; Rescue, Theatre and Soccer.

Robocup Jr Rescue involves designing, building and coding a robot that is capable of following a line and turning the correct way at intersections, avoid obstacles and then locate and remove a “victim” represented by a can. Works best with Lego Mindstorms, SPIKE, VEX or home built Ardunio/Raspberry Pi robots, in teams of 2. Ages 8 – 18.

Robocup Jr Theatre involves teams designing and coding a 1-2 play or dance where robots are the actors. Students come up with the theme, design and build sets, costumes and props and code the robot(s) to move autonomously. Any robotics equipment can be used. Works best in teams of 4. Ages 7 – 18.

Robocup Jr Soccer requires teams to code two robots to play a game soccer. The robot needs to autonomously respond to the movement of the ball, their team robot and the opposition. Works best with Lego Mindstorm, SPIKE, VEX, in teams of 2. We recommend teams have experience with Rescue before working in soccer.

How do I participate in Robocup Jr?

You can get started yourself by referring to the rules on the official Robocup Jr New Zealand website https://www.robocupjunior.org.nz/

If you are in one of our supported regions; Bay of Plenty (including Eastern Bay of Plenty and Rotorua), and South Auckland, we can arrange a kick off session to get you started.

Kick off sessions are free and can be tailored to include a introduction to Edison Robots. The standard sessions include; an introduction to Robocup Jr Theatre, how to tell good stories, key tips for props and next steps.

Our Robocup Jr Rescue Kick Off Sessions are currently only available in Rotorua. These cover an introduction to the competition and walk students and teachers through the theory behind the coding required and support students and teachers to create the code required.

What equipment or tools do I need?

The most important tools are a robot. You can use any robotics equipment for Theatre, but Rescue and Soccer work best with Lego SPIKE, Mindstorm or VEX robots.

For theatre you will then need materials to make costumes, props and sets. We recommend any craft materials you have handy, plus the use of old Real Estate signs as bases to work from.

For Rescue and Soccer you will need access to playing mats to practice with. Get in contact with your regional co-ordinator to see where mats are available to use. https://www.robocupjunior.org.nz/our-competitions/regional-competitions

If you’d like to chat feel free to email us to answer any of your questions jessica@ministryofinspiration.org or join the Facebook Group for more support.