This past Sunday was the Mall-day for the WarEagle BEST hub.  On Mall-day the kids bring their robots to a local Mall to try out their robots on a competition field and to survey the competition.  This year there were some interesting looking designs ranging from a worm gear made from sheets of PVC to a 4-wheeled differential drive robot with scissor arm.

Since all of the hubs have had kick-off already I can share some of this year’s game rules with you.  The theme of this year’s game is Bug’s, and your robot is supposed to collect bugs and food for the bugs and move them to different locations.  For example, you might choose to collect one of the “flys” (two styrofoam spheres that are glued together) from the cabinet and place it in the “wood pile” (an obstacle course made of 2x4’s).  I think the teams have gotten a good start this year and I am excited to see what comes of WarEagle BEST and South’s BEST.

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I have been part of BEST for over 10 years now and I have help almost every conceivable role: student, mentor, referee, volunteer, A-Team (game day technical support team).  My roommate Michael Carroll, who has been doing this just as long as I have, has been an integral part of the planning and technical logistics for WarEagle BEST’s hub events as well as the up coming South’s BEST this year.  If you are unfamiliar with BEST I would encourage you to find out if a hub is near you and get involved!