This story originally published on SUHSD College and Career Readiness.
On Saturday, May 14th, 19 high school teams competed in a regional Robot Programming Competition at San Diego City College.
Sweetwater Union High School District students were there!
Castle Park High School
Team name: TrojanBots
Students: Emmanuel Hidalgo & Joe Miranda
Team: Trojanators
Students: Tomas Mendoza & David Jackson
Sweetwater High School
Team name: 6619X
Students: Antoine Serrano & Cristian Espitia
Students eagerly approached their assigned stations, reviewed the competition’s instructions and judging criteria, and began playing with the software; Choregraphe. Dean Rose LaMuraglia of San Diego City College’s School of Business, Information Technology and Cosmetology kicked off the event with a presentation on careers in technology, aiming to inspire this next generation of programmers. She concluded her presentation with a demonstration in which Patrick, the Nao Robot, spoke to the students and danced to Michael Jackson’s, “Thriller.”
Students participated in a brief tutorial and received instruction on the software then teams were tasked with a series of challenges: they had to program the robot to creatively introduce their teams to an audience, to dance along to popular music, and to most importantly, have fun and learn! The teams dedicated 2 hours and 30 minutes to programming Patrick (Nao Robot).
Antoine Serrano, Nao Robot (Patrick), and Christian Espitia (1st Place)
Sweetwater High School’s students Antoine Serrano and Cristian Espitia
placed first. They programmed Patrick (Nao Robot) to perform the “whip” and “nae nae.”
Congratulations Antoine & Cristian!
The judges assessed students based on a defined set of criteria: the use of fluid dance movements, complexity of the dance sequence, the entertainment factor, and the ability of the students to take into consideration Patrick’s limitations when programming him.
Emmanuel Hidalgo from Castle Park High School won a raffled gaming console.
All of the students walked away with SeaWorld passes, Xbox music passes donated by The Microsoft Store, Otterbox cell phone cases donated by the OtterCares Foundation, and Rubio’s gift cards.
Congratulations to all participating Students!