Some kids play sports, some play instruments, some do both and some study artificial intelligence and build dancing robots.
Shuswap Middle School students Aiken Webster and Mathew Carson, both 11, and Len Wood Middle School student Madison Smith, 12, recently earned international recognition for their robotics when they competed at RoboCup 2013 in Eindhoven, Netherlands June 24 to July 1.
“It was really intense but a lot of the teams were really nice,” said Webster, “and it was really neat meeting the other people and finding out about their robots and what programs they were using.”
Not only did the trio place in the top 10 in their category, they were named the top programmers – something Webster can only describe as “cool.”
Each team had to participate in a technical interview with the judges and explain their program, which made up 50 per cent of their score.
“Because programming is the aspect of robotics that I am best at, it feels good to be recognized for something that I am passionate about,” said Smith.
The team, Pyromaniaardvarkz, won their spot in Eindhoven by placing first at the Western Canadian RoboCup last fall in Kelowna. Their Star Wars-themed performance for the dance category landed them on the fast track for international competition, and they ended up being the only Canadian team in their category.
“We were just hoping not to get last,” Webster said of representing Canada. “It was pretty cool knowing we were in the top 10.”
Team mentor Kim Webster, said the kids were completely on their own since coaches were not allowed on the arena floor. They had to register for practices and interviews, and perform all on their own.
“They did really well at that and we were really proud of them,” Webster said. “They proved to us that they were quite ready to grow up.”
Webster said there were parts of the competition that blind-sided them and they had to adapt to unexpected rules and additions.
The Super Team Challenge was one. It combined different teams and gave them six hours to come up with a new routine, as a group.
Pyromaniaardvarkz was paired with China and Slovenia.
Aiken Webster said they learned a lot culture-wise and China was using a program they didn’t know, so they had an opportunity to learn something new.
Their category also included kids up to 15 years old, instead of 14 at the Western Canada RoboCup.
“One thing we learned was the amazing effect that pressure can have on a person,” said Smith. “We were, in my opinion, at least twice as productive at the competition as we were at home.”
Smith also found it overwhelming to adapt to new customs during the competition and they were forced to work outside their comfort zone, their “bubble” as she describes it. But they gained a lot of experience and learned from the people around them.
“Somehow though, through all of this we managed to find time to get to know the other teams, learn about their robots and laugh amongst ourselves.”
