Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation to host the Institute of Navigation 2011 Mini-Urban Challenge National High School Robotic Competition
Manassas, Virginia, March 30, 2011 – The Institute of Navigation (ION) announces that the ION 2011 Mini-Urban Challenge National Competition will be held Saturday, May 21, 2011 at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History from 8am to 5pm.
Sponsored by the Institute of Navigation and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the ION 2011 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 through a LEGO® city.
More than 500 students from 50 high schools competed in five regional competitions held in Louisiana, Florida, California, Washington, DC and Ohio. First and second place winners from each of the five ION Mini-Urban Challenge Regional Competitions will be invited to compete in the National Competition May 21st.
Each team will be judged based on their cumulative scores earned throughout the competition phases: 70% of the total score will be based on the course navigation portion of the competition and 30% of the total score will be based on a technical presentation.
All events are open to the public and media.
The Mini-Urban Challenge, now in its third year, is designed to provide high school students, working with academic advisors and team mentors, experience in collaboration, problem solving, team building, and project and time management and acts to inspire and attract students to the engineering and navigation fields.
Further details for the Mini-Urban Challenge are available at www.MiniUrbanChallenge.com
About ION
The Institute of Navigation is the world’s premier professional society dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing. The Institute is a national organization whose membership spans worldwide. Additional information about the ION can be found at http://www.ion.org.