September 26, 2012 - The 20th annual BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition has kicked off at hub locations nationwide. This is the eighth year for igus as a nationwide product sponsor of the event. The 2012 game, entitled “WARP XX”, was unveiled a few months ago as a teaser for more than 1,000 competing teams. WARP XX is aimed at the concept of the Space Elevator, a proposed transportation system designed to permit cargo transport along a cable from a planetary surface, such as the Earth's, directly into space or orbit without the useage of rockets.
BEST Inc., a non-profit, volunteer organization, aims to inspire middle and high school students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology through participation in science- and engineering-based robotics competitions. igus aspires to achieve a similar goal through its Y.E.S.
(Young Engineers Support) Program by donating products to engineering curriculums and competitions such as BEST Robotics. This year, BEST teams will have the opportunity to use Energy Chain cable carriers, DryLin linear slides, igubal spherical bearings, and aluminum shafting all donated by igus. The students have a total of six weeks to design and build their robots and will then compete with their finished products at local events across the U.S.