LEGO event set for UM

ORONO – More than 250 elementary and middle school students from northern New England will bring their LEGO robots to the University of Maine on Dec. 9 to compete in the Arctic Impact competition at the Field House.

The Agent Institute at UMaine and the FIRST LEGO League, a nonprofit organization in Manchester, N.H., are sponsoring the event. Activities will begin with registration at 8 a.m. and opening ceremony at 9 a.m. The competition will run 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Thirty-one teams have registered for the event. Maine teams are from Acton, Auburn, Damariscotta, Hampden, Kingfield, Lewiston, New Sharon, Leeds, Olamon, Philips, Rockland, Owls Head, Surry, Temple, Warren, Veazie and York. Three teams from Massachusetts and nine from New Hampshire also will compete.

This year’s challenge is for students to program their robots to respond to an impending Arctic storm at a remote outpost. As the snow starts to fall and the wind picks up, the teams must rescue scientists, set out field instruments and prepare for the storm.

Awards will be given to teams in categories such as understanding the science of this year’s challenge, programming, engineering, team spirit, creativity and leadership.

Each robot consists of more than 700 LEGO pieces and contains the MindStorm RCX microcomputer. The RCX serves as the brain of the robotic creation. It uses light, touch, rotation, temperature and visual sensors to take input from its environment, process data, and signal output motors to turn on and off.

Kids create a program using the Robotic Inventions System, then download it to the RCX using a special infrared transmitter. Each creation can interact with its environment without wires or remote control devices.

More information about the competition is available at www.agent.maine.edu.