UMass Dartmouth Students Hosting First Micromouse Robot Race

Engineering students at UMass Dartmouth have been creating robots for quite some time, and it's probably not a surprise that those robots are getting smaller and smaller.

The university and a group of engineering students are joining forces to host a Micromouse robot race this month, featuring robots that are no bigger than the mouse you use at your computer.

UMass graduate and competition chair Frankie Bouchard of Dartmouth, and seniors  Ben Randall of Norwood and Isaiah Orties of Acushnet, joined Townsquare Sunday to give us details on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) competition and what Micromouse robot racing is all about.

The competition will be held on Saturday, September 13 in the Marketplace area at UMass Dartmouth. It's free admission, with free pizza for anyone who gets hungry. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Who’s Competing in the Inaugural Race?

Competing will be teams from UMass Dartmouth, the University of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University and Old Colony High School. The four schools will be competing for a trophy and a chance to move on to the next phase of this worldwide competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What Is Micromouse Robot Racing?

"Students have created a 16-by-16-foot track and competing students will take the mouse robot that they've built and will have roughly 10 minutes to find their way to the middle of the track," Bouchard said.

There is no remote control or outside help.

UMass Dartmouth Students Lead the Way

Randall is a senior majoring in engineering, and he constructed the track for the competition.

"For me, it's always engineering," he said. "It's something you can't turn off."

Orties is also a senior with a dual major in engineering at UMass Dartmouth. It's his job to get people to attend the event.

"We've been advertising all over campus, and we've reached out to schools with engineering programs, like BCC and Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech," he said.

The group expects about 100 people to attend but is hoping for more.

Looking Ahead: Growing the Robotics Challenge

This is the inaugural Micromouse robot event at UMass Dartmouth.

"We were encouraged by MIT to start with smaller, local heats this year," Bouchard said. "Next year, we hope to have more schools taking part."

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