ROBOTICS COMPETITION COMING TO ROSE STATE COLLEGE Published September 14, 2018 by Daniel Beck

OKBEST Robotics Kickoff Taking Place on Rose State Campus September 15

Midwest City, Okla. – The OKBEST Robotics Kickoff, a robotics competition for junior and senior high school students, is coming to Rose State College on September 15. OKBEST, in partnership with BEST Robotics, is a competition that gives students an opportunity to build a functioning robot using household items such as PVC pipe, screws, piano wire, and more. The B.E.S.T. (Boosting Science, Engineering, and Technology) program looks to engage and excite students about engineering, science, and technology, inspiring them to pursue careers in those fields, and teaching teamwork, problem-solving, project management and pride in task competition. 

Students receive plywood and a box filled with various items and a BRAIN (BEST Robotics Advanced Instruction Node programmable platform) and a micro-energy chain system. Students are then given six weeks to design and build a functioning machine that can perform specific tasks over a three-minute timeframe. Students compete against other teams with points awarded for successful completion of each task. Over 18,000 students compete each year in various local and regional B.E.S.T. competitions.

Initially formed in 1998, The goal of OKBest’s is to demonstrate the excitement of advanced technical careers to young people who are nearing decisions on college plans. Team membership on B.E.S.T. is open to all interested students and participation is without fee to the students or the schools. With the economic downturn in 2012, OKBest was forced to cease operations, relaunching in 2017 with the help from Rose State College.

The top teams from the OKBEST competition are qualified to advance to the B.E.S.T. Regional in December.

OKBEST Kickoff is September 15 at Rose State College. The will start at the Rose State College Lecture Hall at 9 am. The afternoon session will begin at 1 pm with a programming introduction session, as well as a session discussing game rules and engineering notebooks. Sessions will run concurrently and are optional for all teams. Afternoon sessions are scheduled from 1 - 3 pm. 

For more information on the OKBEST Robotics Kickoff contact Michael Garrison: mgarrison@rose.edu or 405.401.7851, or visit www.okbest.org. To sign up for the competition, email bestrobotics405@gmail.com.