BSM’s Advanced Competitive Science (ACS) Program has done it again! They have qualified for an international competition and will soon be jetting across the globe.

Invited to participate in the RoboCupRescue tournament, eight 2011 Red Knight graduates, along with chaperones and a complex robot, are headed to Istanbul, Turkey, July 3-13. The category in which the group will compete is the search and rescue division, which—according to the RoboCup website (www.RoboCup2011.org) “specifically promotes research in socially significant issues.”

This BSM group was selected to participate based on previous impressive results in similar competitions, as well as submission of a technical paper. The competition will take place from July 7-10, allowing the Red Knights some sightseeing time in the area too.

While RoboCupRescue is technically a competitive tournament, BSM’s ACS Directory Timothy Jump emphasizes that BSM’s purpose in participating relates more to collaborative research. Having already contributed systems that have been re-created and used by others in this field, Red Knights are well respected as an engineering group. “The whole reason in participating in these types of competitions is to stimulate research,” says Jump. In addition, by having all ACS Program students work on these advanced tasks, “we are able to offer higher levels of learning to our students,” Jump explains.

While BSM has regularly performed well in competitions—both nationally and internationally—“It is not about winning,” Jump says. “We’re part of a research consortium,” which provides unique opportunities for our students.

The students who will be participating in the Turkey competition are Irena Cich, Catherine Coleman, Margaret Murphy, Chris Nagel, Tiana Press, Alex Smith, Nils Swenson and Jack Tift.
The group will be blogging at http://ACSatBSM.wordpress.com.

View a video of BSM President Dr. Bob Tift, discussing the ACS Program at http://youtu.be/bPIfoWH6VtM.