Business and Industry | NewsNovember 18, 2024

UAFS Robotics Team Perseveres to Take First Place in National Competition

Written By: Judith Hansen

A "long and arduous journey" led the UAFS robotics team to First Place Overall and the Field Competition Award at the 22^nd annual Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering student division competition in October in Las Vegas.

Senior computer science major Christopher Monterroza said he and the other students had worked on the robot, named Numa, since May.

Before leaving for the event, Christopher staked out his position: "We are going to give our best to bring UAFS first place this year. It has been a long and arduous journey for all of us, but we finally made it to the big stage in terms of robotics, and we can ultimately show the country what our university is capable of."

After returning to UAFS with the Stephen Harris Cup, Christopher said the competition was challenging but exciting. 

"I was a little nervous," he said. "But I was also ready to give it all I had in order to obtain a grand victory for our team after coming such a long way."

Dr. Latisha Settlage, Dean of the College of Business and Industry, commented on the project's value to students and the university.

"The ATMAE student robotics competition provides the opportunity for our students to practice technical competencies as well as project management, teamwork, and presentation skills," she said. "The team's first place finish showcases the competitiveness of our students and the quality of our programs in preparing graduates for careers in engineering."

Christopher, who controlled the robot for the competition, described the tasks the robots completed.

"Essentially, our robot moved around an enclosed arena quickly and with control while delivering objects scattered around the arena to our drop-off box. However, a robot could steal objects from another robot's box and disrupt them by hitting the freeze button at the rear of the robot. We showed the country that the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith is able to excel in robotics by our competition victory and first place overall in the conference."

Christopher said he learned a lot preparing for and attending the competition. 

"I learned how to research better, how to work as part of a big team with multiple complex components, and how to deal with setbacks effectively," he said. 

Dr. Kiyun Han, associate professor of Smart Systems Engineering, underlined the importance of those learning outcomes.

"Competitions like these … provide opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge from their classes in practical, real-world situations, enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. (And) they encourage teamwork and collaborations, as students must work together to design, build, (and) program their robots," Han said.

Han also noted that competitions can "ignite a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields." Students can explore their majors and see future career paths, he said. 

Competitions also build soft skills, including confidence and resilience, as students "learn to handle both success and setbacks."

Finally, Han said, students "learn the importance of perseverance, creativity, and collaboration that will serve them well in any future endeavor."

For Christopher, this was the big payoff: "At the event, I learned to ultimately trust myself and my team since we never gave up; through the hardships up until the last second of the competition, we stuck to it to the very end, granting us our earned victory."

He was also glad to have the opportunity to network with "students, professors, and professionals in the field of engineering."

After graduation, Christopher plans to work towards creating his own Artificial Intelligence and robotics company.

• Tags:
• College of Business and Industry
• Robotics