Teams from across West Virginia and beyond will battle it out by land and by air during two days of robotics competitions hosted by the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) at Marshall University.
On Dec. 3, RCBI will host the Marshall University VEX IQ Robotics Qualifier at Huntington Tri-State Airport. Elementary and middle school teams will build and program robots, which they will maneuver on a playing field to score points by completing a series of tasks. Twenty-five teams are scheduled to participate.
Middle and high school aerial robotics teams will compete Dec. 4 in the RCBI-sponsored RAD Aerial Drone Qualifier, which also will take place at Huntington Tri-State Airport. More than 20 teams from West Virginia and Kentucky will score points by flying their drones through and around obstacles while completing a series of tasks.
Both events, which run from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, will take place at the Marshall University Aviation Maintenance Technology facilities at the airport (1433 County Route 3/1, Huntington, WV). The events are open to the public. The top-scoring teams in both competitions have the opportunity to advance: to the state robotics championship or to the world drone tournament.
The robotics events are designed to promote STEM learning and teamwork. “Increasing participation and providing opportunities is a key goal of RCBI’s STEM education initiatives,” said STEM Coordinator Deacon Stone. “Hosting these events takes a great deal of coordination and effort, but we consider them wholly worthwhile because they represent a critical investment in STEM education for students – and they’re fun for everyone involved.”
The events are made possible through the generous support of the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the West Virginia Robotics Alliance, the Katherine Johnson NASA IV&V Education Resource Center, Marshall University and Huntington Tri-State Airport.
For more information, contact Stone at or 304.781.1659.
Nov. 29, 2022
