BEST Robotics Competition participants complete their Mission to Hubble with the help of igus
Company's first nationwide product sponsorship proves a rocketing success
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - December 20, 2005 - The 2005 BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition came to a close in Texas this month. After a total of three regional events that took place in Ala., Ark. and Texas, more than 700 student teams completed the " Mission to Hubble." The conclusion of the season also signified the first successful nationwide product sponsorship for Igus Inc., the leading developer of Energy Chain Systems ®, Chainflex ® continuous-flex cables and iglide ® plastic bearings.
In July, igus announced its plans to sponsor the 13 th annual BEST Competition by donating various plastic machinery components to every participating team. The widespread donation made igus the only national product-sponsor for the event and enabled the company to reach a large number of young engineers and professional mentors. As part of its Y.E.S. (Young Engineers Support) Program, igus aims to foster the mechanical design aspirations of students. The donation to BEST enabled igus to accomplish this goal, while at the same time, supporting the BEST organization.
At the start of the season, students were challenged to use a kit of parts to build a robot that could switch out faulty batteries with fully functioning ones on a simulated Hubble Telescope. Winning teams from each local event advanced to one of the three regional competitions, the first of which took place in Ala. during November.
A number of different awards were presented to the teams at each regional, including the BEST Award for the team who displayed the most impressive performance overall in competition, presentation, sportsmanship and teamwork; the Founder's Award for most creative robot design; and the igus Top Gun Award for the most points scored in one round of play.
Ala. 's BEST Award and its igus Top Gun Award were presented to Wheeler High School from Ga. This team dominated the bulk of the competition and used igus Energy Chain ® to manage and protect the cables on its robot. Arkansas ' BEST Award went to Wichita Homeschool in Kan. and the igus Top Gun was awarded to Ambassadors for Christ Academy .
At the Texas regional, the igus Top Gun recipient was Stacey High School , while state locals Texoma Home Educators (THE) took home both the overall BEST Award and the Founder's Award for innovative robot design, in part due to their use of igus products. THE used a DryLin ® linear guide system, igubal ® rod ends and donated aluminum shafting to enable a grabbing mechanism on its robot to remove four batteries from the Hubble Telescope at one time.
Ed Cox, a mentor for the first place THE team, expressed how much his students enjoyed working with the igus products.
"The students were extremely excited when they saw the igus products in this year's BEST kit," said Cox. "They worked with the products throughout the design process and made an incredible robot this year in part thanks to igus. The team's design used a number of the company's donations and made the robot's special multiple battery pick-up feature possible."
Farrah Phillipo, marketing manager for igus, and Courtney Toomey, Y.E.S. program administrator, attended the Alabama regional to present the igus award, created in recognition of the company's large contribution.
"The event was electrifying. There were so many students enthralled in the game and a lot of school spirit," said Phillipo. "It was exciting for us to see how the BEST students used our products, how igus' donation made a difference to the competition and how the Y.E.S. Program has grown through this sponsorship."
Phillipo also thinks the product sponsorship was lucrative for igus.
"Igus has been donating to student teams for years, but with this nationwide sponsorship, has extended its student outreach efforts drastically," she said. "It is exciting that these students have our products in their hands and that igus helped make this enriching learning experience possible for them. Hopefully this competition will inspire some of the participants to pursue careers in engineering and if they do, they will remember igus."
Igus would like to congratulate all the 2005 BEST participants. If any students, teachers or mentors would like to request additional products for school projects, please contact Courtney Toomey via e-mail at ctoomey@igus.com or call (800) 521-2747. To learn more about igus' sponsorship of BEST and to see pictures of the competition, visit www.igus.com/yesprogram. To see a full list of competition results, visit www.bestinc.org and navigate to each of the three regional homepages.
About igus
Igus Inc., founded in 1985 and based in East Providence, R.I., develops and manufactures industry-leading plastic cable carriers, continuous-flex cables, plastic bearings and linear guide systems. With more than 28,000 products available from stock, the company meets the motion control and machinery component needs of customers worldwide. Product lines include Energy Chain Systems to protect and house moving cables, Chainflex continuous-flex cables, iglide self-lubricating, oil-free, plastic bearings, DryLin linear guide systems and igubal spherical bearings. For more information, contact igus at (800) 521-2747 or visit www.igus.com.
