Two Shepherd University computer science students came away winners from the IEEE Region 2 Student Activities Conference April 7-9 at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. David Cookerly, a computer engineering major from Inwood, and Daniel Watson, a computer information sciences major from Bunker Hill, took the second place trophy in the Sumo Robotics Kit Competition.
In Sumo Robotics, teams place an autonomous Pololu Zumo robot in a circular ring and, as in traditional Japanese Sumo wrestling, each robot attempts to push the opposing robot out of the ring. Once one of the robots has been pushed out, the round is over and the one who remains is the winner. Teams that successfully win two rounds proceed to the next tier of the competition. In the kit competition, all teams have the same robot and it is up to the team to write the best and most strategic code in order to win.
The Student Activities Conference of IEEE Region 2 encompasses parts of Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. At least 25 schools competed in the conference, including Penn State, Ohio State, West Virginia University and Villanova.