Augustana holds second annual robotics competition

Seven teams from Augustana College, Knox College and St. Ambrose University went head-to-head in the second annual Augustana Invitational Robotics Challenge in early May. Teams from Augustana won first and third place, while a St. Ambrose team took home second.

The object of this year’s challenge, which was held in conjunction with Augustana’s annual Celebration of Learning, was for robots to clear pingpong balls from a 2-by-8 foot course made of pegboard.

The first place team was made up of Augustana students Abby Thomson ’17, Al Vi ’17, Daniel Zwiener ’18 and Blake Erquiaga. The Augustana team that won third place included Tan Nguyen ’18 and Son Nguyen ’20. 

“What happens inside the classroom is only one piece of a great college education,” said Dr. Forrest Stonedahl, assistant professor of computer science and the competition’s organizer. “Both years I have been impressed by the creativity of the students' designs. You can create very different robots that accomplish the same task, and I believe that creative problem-solving like this is a crucial part of a strong liberal arts education.”

See more competition photos in an online album.