South Miami Senior High Wins 2012 ION Mini-Urban Challenge
The Institute of Navigation (ION) announces that South Miami Senior High School won the 2012 ION Mini-Urban Challenge held May 26 at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History.
Sponsored by the Institute of Navigation and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the ION Mini-Urban Challenge is a national event that challenges high school students to work in teams to design and operate a robotic car, built from a LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit, that can accurately navigate autonomously through a model city. The competition is intended to expose students to the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
More than 600 students from 66 high schools competed in five regional competitions held in Louisiana, Florida, California, Washington, D.C., and Ohio. First- and second-place winners from each of the five ION Mini-Urban Challenge Regional Competitions were invited to compete in the National Competition. Each team was judged based on their cumulative scores earned throughout the competition phases: 30% of the total score was based on a technical presentation, and 70% of the total score was based on the course navigation portion of the competition.
First place was awarded to the “Legotron” Team from South Miami Senior High School, Miami, Florida. The first place prize included $2,500 for the winner’s school and a trophy. Second place was awarded to the “305” Team, also from South Miami Senior High School. The second place prize included $1,000 for the winner’s school and a trophy. Third place was awarded to Perry High School, Perry, Ohio. The third place prize included $500 for the winner’s school and a trophy. Best in Show went to the “Legotron” Team from South Miami Senior High School and Best Presentation went to West High School, Torrance, California, who won based on their ambulance robot, complete with working siren.
Sponsors for the 2012 ION Mini-Urban Challenge included: the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate, The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History, Boeing, John Deere, the Joint Services Data Exchange (JSDE), Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, the Consortium of Ohio Universities on Navigation & Timing (COUNT), CSR, JAVAD GNSS, Overlook Systems, The University of Calgary, Schulich School of Engineering, UrsaNav, and Lego.
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