December 16, 2008 – igus Inc. is the newest sponsor for Botball, an educational robotics program funded by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics. The Botball Program aims to integrate science, technology, engineering, and math with robotics to keep students on the cutting edge of technology. For the 2009 competition, igus donated Energy Chain cable carriers and DryLin linear guide systems to 400 competing teams.At the start of the season—commencing in January 2009—students will be given seven weeks to design, build and program a mobile, autonomous robot while documenting their engineering process online.
Participants later compete against each other on a playing field in a regional tournaments. The robots must be student-built and programmed to maneuver on the game board without using a remote control.For the upcoming competition, Botball teams will be provided with an igus kit of parts, which includes:
- E2 “micro” Energy Chain;
- a DryLin N, low profile linear guide system;
- a product data guide with part specifications and application examples; and
- igus decals and tape measures.
“igus has been a dedicated supporter of student-geared robotics programs, such as FIRST Robotics and BEST Robotics, for years now,” said Carsten Blase, vice president of igus.
“The Botball Program is another educational inituative that igus supports in conjuntion with its Young Engineers Support Program.
Botball and the Y.E.S.
Program share a common goal: to educate and also encourage students to be excited about engineering.”
