Plum High School's Atomic Shock Reigns Victorious Over the 5th Annual BotsIQ Competition

The competition was fierce and the bots relentless-- but in the end, Atomic Shock built by Plum High School stood alone as the champion of the 2010 Southwestern PA BotsIQ battle beating out 43 other teams for the title.

It's been half a decade since the Pittsburgh Chapter National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) and a committed group of manufacturers and educators - including the Private Industry Council - brought BotsIQ to southwestern PA. Known as "The Smart Sport", It's a gladiator-style battle to the finish of student-made, remote-controlled robots. The contest runs in a double elimination format over two days at Century III Mall.

The NTMA was instrumental in bringing BotsIQ to southwestern Pennsylvania in 2006. Students love BotsIQ because it makes education fun-drawing on their knowledge of math, science, engineering and even public speaking. Educators love BotsIQ because of the enthusiasm it sparks in their students and the resources it provides to their classroom. But, it's the manufacturing industry that is standing behind this "smart sport" because of the potential impact it has on business. Young people who are interested in how things are made are the future of the high-tech manufacturing workforce.

Now, Plum Robotics, the team that built Atomic Shock, will get a $1,000 scholarship from the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Tooling & Machining Association for the team to compete at the National Tooling and Machining Association's National Robotics League Competition June 21-23, 2010 in Kansas City, Missouri. Also taking home honors, Still'n Shock, also from Plum High School won second place in the competition, while students voted Grim Reaper V2 by Fayette County AVTS "Coolest Bot" and West Mifflin High School "Best Sportsmanship". Central Valley High School won "Best Engineered Bot" for their robot, The Best One Here and Fayette County AVTS was judged to have the "Best Engineering Documentation". Ripper from Connellsville High School took home the distinction of "King of Ring" after winning the final bot rumble.

Competing in 2010: Admiral Peary AVTS, Beaver County CTC, Belle Vernon Area HS, Central Valley HS, Central Westmoreland CTC, Clairton HS, Connellsville Area HS, Derry Area HS, Eastern Westmoreland CTC, Fayette County AVTS, Forbes Road CTC, Greater Latrobe Senior HS, Hempfield Area HS, Highlands HS, Kiski Area HS, Lenape Tech, Montour HS, Northern Westmoreland CTC, Norwin HS, Penn Hills HS, Plum HS, Propel Andrew Street HS, Punxsutawney Area HS, Riverview Jr/Sr HS, Schenley/Peabody HS, Serra Catholic HS, Shaler Area HS, Somerset County Technology Center, South Park HS, Springdale Jr/Sr HS, Steel Center AVTS, Sto-Rox HS, United Jr/Sr HS, West Mifflin Area HS, Western PA School for the Deaf.

More information and photos are available at BotsIQ-Southwestern PA webiste..