BEST Robotics
Encyclopedia
BEST, Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology, is a national 6-week robotics
competition in the United States
held each fall, designed to help interest middle school and high school students in possible engineering
careers. The games are similar in scale to the FIRST Tech Challenge
.
facility in Sherman, Texas
, engineers Ted Mahler and Steve Marum, along with several students, watched a video featuring the work Woodie Flowers
was doing with his students at MIT, and wondered why they could not extend this idea to high school
students.
The BEST competition began in 1993 in Sherman
, Texas
with one small hub featuring 14 schools (one from San Antonio) and 221 students.
Based on the task for the year, each team is given a parts list and kit of parts which they use to construct a robot
. This kit includes parts such as wood and PVC, along with the RC components necessary to control the robot. However, not every item on the parts list is supplied by BEST and some must be obtained by the team. Items not on the list are not allowed, and the robot will be checked prior to competition for illegal items. Teams are given six weeks from kickoff to design and build the robot and finish other competition tasks, such as writing an engineering notebook about their design and construction process.
The final robot must fit in a 2 foot cube at the beginning of each round of competition. The robot must also weigh under 24 pounds. Once a round has started, the robot can expand beyond the 2 foot cube via retractable arms, etc.
The game task is different each year, but historically the robot has often needed an arm with different grabbing abilities. One year the game centered on team work to try to get students to work together. The winning teams from local competition sites, or hubs, advance to regional championship sites after the local competition has ended.
, an interview, delivering an oral presentation to a panel of judges, and creating a table display booth.
BEST encourages its teams to follow an engineering process, similar to the engineering process used in many engineering jobs. This gives students a taste of what they may have to do in future engineering jobs. It also hopes to get students excited about the field of engineering and more likely to go into it. Although BEST has not been able to keep up with alumni to see if BEST has had an effect on their career path, similar robotics competitions, like FIRST
, show that activities like BEST do have a higher rate of students going into science and engineering related fields.
Another challenge teams involved in BEST face is limited materials—the primary construction materials used in BEST are simple and easily formed. These materials include PVC pipe, string, plywood, a limited quantity of sheet metal, and a bit of aluminum, as well as miscellaneous hardware, 2 large motors and 2 small motors, and the electronics necessary to run these motors and the 3 provided servos. At the beginning of competition, the robot is checked over to make sure that no illegal parts are used. Originally, old printers were also part of the BEST kit and printer parts could be used on the machine. The limited materials make students think much more creatively with what they are given.
2nd BEST Award - UNITED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY MAGNET http://www.uetmrobotics.com
3rd BEST Award- McFadden School of Excellence Middle School
1st place robot Conway High school
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
competition in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
held each fall, designed to help interest middle school and high school students in possible engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
careers. The games are similar in scale to the FIRST Tech Challenge
FIRST Tech Challenge
The FIRST Tech Challenge , formerly the FIRST Vex Challenge , is a mid-level robotics competition targeted toward high-school aged students. It offers the traditional challenge of a FIRST Robotics competition but with a more accessible and affordable robotics kit...
.
History
While preparing for Engineering Day at the Texas InstrumentsTexas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
facility in Sherman, Texas
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, engineers Ted Mahler and Steve Marum, along with several students, watched a video featuring the work Woodie Flowers
Woodie Flowers
Woodie C. Flowers is an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His specialty areas are engineering design and product development, he holds the Pappalardo Professorship and is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow....
was doing with his students at MIT, and wondered why they could not extend this idea to high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students.
The BEST competition began in 1993 in Sherman
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
with one small hub featuring 14 schools (one from San Antonio) and 221 students.
Structure
Currently, BEST has hubs across the country. There are approximately 10,000 students, 800+ teams, 35 hubs in 15 states, and 3 regionals. Any school may start a team; there is no cost to participate. The hubs rely on local financial support from businesses and universities. Anyone can start a new hub serving a minimum of eight teams. On average, the cost for the first year of running a hub with 24 teams is $28,000.Based on the task for the year, each team is given a parts list and kit of parts which they use to construct a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
. This kit includes parts such as wood and PVC, along with the RC components necessary to control the robot. However, not every item on the parts list is supplied by BEST and some must be obtained by the team. Items not on the list are not allowed, and the robot will be checked prior to competition for illegal items. Teams are given six weeks from kickoff to design and build the robot and finish other competition tasks, such as writing an engineering notebook about their design and construction process.
The final robot must fit in a 2 foot cube at the beginning of each round of competition. The robot must also weigh under 24 pounds. Once a round has started, the robot can expand beyond the 2 foot cube via retractable arms, etc.
The game task is different each year, but historically the robot has often needed an arm with different grabbing abilities. One year the game centered on team work to try to get students to work together. The winning teams from local competition sites, or hubs, advance to regional championship sites after the local competition has ended.
Competition
BEST Robotics includes two elements: a robot competition, in which teams attempt to score as many points as possible in head-to-head competition, and the BEST award. The BEST award is more complex, encompassing such tasks as writing a high-quality technical notebook or engineering journal (which will be used to judge who will be a "wild card" in the semi-finals. That is, if their robot does not do well, they will still make it to the semi-finals, and have a chance to win), designing a websiteWebsite
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, an interview, delivering an oral presentation to a panel of judges, and creating a table display booth.
BEST encourages its teams to follow an engineering process, similar to the engineering process used in many engineering jobs. This gives students a taste of what they may have to do in future engineering jobs. It also hopes to get students excited about the field of engineering and more likely to go into it. Although BEST has not been able to keep up with alumni to see if BEST has had an effect on their career path, similar robotics competitions, like FIRST
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
, show that activities like BEST do have a higher rate of students going into science and engineering related fields.
Another challenge teams involved in BEST face is limited materials—the primary construction materials used in BEST are simple and easily formed. These materials include PVC pipe, string, plywood, a limited quantity of sheet metal, and a bit of aluminum, as well as miscellaneous hardware, 2 large motors and 2 small motors, and the electronics necessary to run these motors and the 3 provided servos. At the beginning of competition, the robot is checked over to make sure that no illegal parts are used. Originally, old printers were also part of the BEST kit and printer parts could be used on the machine. The limited materials make students think much more creatively with what they are given.
First National Championship Results
1st BEST Award - Metro Homeschool Robotics http://metrohomeschoolrobotics.org/2nd BEST Award - UNITED ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY MAGNET http://www.uetmrobotics.com
3rd BEST Award- McFadden School of Excellence Middle School
1st place robot Conway High school
Past Year's Challenges
- 2010 Total Recall
- 2009 High Octane
- 2008 Just Plane Crazy
- 2007 2021: A Robot Odyssey
- 2006 Laundry Quandary
- 2005 Mission to Hubble
- 2004 BEST Fever
- 2003 Transfusion Confusion
- 2002 Warp X
- 2001 RAD to the CORE
- 2000 Pandemonium in the Smithsonian
- 1999 Rocket Race: The Alien Escape
- 1998 Toxic Troubles
- 1997 Dynamite Duel
- 1996 Block N' Load
- 1995 TOTALly aweSUM
- 1994 Bumble Rumble
- 1993 PVC Insanity
External links
- BEST Robotics, Inc. (BRI) – The Parent Organization
National Competition
- National BEST Championship, which was held in Dallas, TX, April 23-24th,2010.
- National BEST Championship (now billed as World's BEST Championship) will be held at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World April 14-16th, 2011
Regional Competitions
- Frontier Trails BEST, which is held at the University of Arkansas - Fort SmithUniversity of Arkansas - Fort SmithThe University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, known also as UAFS, is a public, co-educational, four-year university. It is one of 11 campuses that make up the University of Arkansas System and is located in Fort Smith, Arkansas...
, contains hubs from the west of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
that are not in TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. - South's BEST, which is held at Auburn UniversityAuburn UniversityAuburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
, contains hubs from east of the Mississippi River. - Texas BEST, which was previously held at Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
and will now be held at University of North TexasUniversity of North TexasThe University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
, contains all hubs from Texas and New Mexico.
Hub websites
Not a complete list of hubs, as not all hubs have websites. Also note that the cities given as hub locations only denote the location of the actual competition. Each hub draws schools from a specific geographic region (e.g. specific counties) -- any school in that region is eligible to compete in the said hubs.- Alabama BEST – Auburn, AL hub website (In 2009, Alabama BEST changed its name to War Eagle BEST)
- Bearcat BEST – Cincinnati, OH hub website
- Billiken BEST – St. Louis, MO hub website
- Brazos BEST – College Station, TX hub website
- Capitol BEST – Austin, TX hub website
- Coastal Bend BEST – Corpus Christi, TX hub website
- CoCo BEST – Collin County, TX (McKinney, TX) hub website
- Cowtown BEST – Fort Worth, TX hub website
- Crowley's Ridge BEST – Jonesboro, AR hub website
- Dallas BEST – Dallas, TX hub website
- Denton County BEST – Denton, TX hub website
- Emerald Coast Best – Pensacola, FL hub website
- Florida BEST – Ft. Lauderdale, FL hub website
- Georgia BEST Robotics – Marietta, GA hub website
- HeartLand BEST – Alva, OK hub website
- Illinois BEST – ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
hub website - Jubilee BEST – Mobile, AL hub website
- Kansas BEST – Wichita, KS hub website
- New Mexico BEST Las Cruces, NM hub website (hub serves entire state of NMNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and the El PasoEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
area of west TXTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) - North Houston BEST – North Houston, TXTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
hub website (Formerly Five Star BEST) - North Texas BEST – serving the TexomaTexomaTexoma, a portmanteau of the words Texas and Oklahoma, is used to describe the area on either side of the border between these two states along the Red River valley, in particular the area around Lake Texoma, a popular recreation area...
area (NT BEST was the founding hub) - Northwest Alabama BEST Muscle Shoals, AL hub website
- Northwest Arkansas BEST – Fayetteville, AR hub website
- OKBEST Oklahoma City, OK hub website
- River Valley BEST – Fort Smith, AR hub website
- San Antonio BEST – San Antonio, TX hub website
- Space City BEST – Metro. Houston, TX hub website
- Tennessee Valley BEST Decatur, AL hub website
- War Eagle BEST – Auburn, AL hub website (Formerly Alabama BEST)
- Wiregrass BEST – Dothan, AL hub website
- West Texas BEST Lubbock, TXLubbock, TexasLubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
hub website