NZ world champions at VEX Robotics in US

New Zealand robotics teams mentored by Massey University engineers have won the VEX Robotics World Championships in the United States for the fourth time running.

Overall world champions are Onehunga High School, with other groups from the Kiwibots New Zealand team winning three of the four division championships. Otumoetai College, Tauranga, are the Mathematics Division Champions; Lynfield College, West Auckland, are the Science Division Champions; and Onehunga also took the top prize as Engineering Division Champions.

The championship – held this year in Los Angeles – involved more than 10,000 intermediate, high school and university students, teachers and mentors from 20 countries who competed at regional and national contests to qualify for the world championships. The competition requires teams to build customised robots with VEX Robotics design systems and deploy strategy, tactics, software skills and team cooperation to overthrow rivals in a fast-paced game. This year’s was called Gateway.

Massey University’s Associate Professor Johan Potgieter, a mechatronics senior lecturer from the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology at Albany, was inducted into the VEX Hall of Fame as a Volunteer of the Year, as was Massey University for winning the Excellence Award in 2011.

American-based Vex Robotics was launched in New Zealand in 2008 by Massey University. In 2009 the University held the first national Vex competition at its Albany campus, and has provided mentoring for participating schools ever since. It is now run by a charitable trust Kiwibots New Zealand, headed by national manager Chris Hamling.

He says the phenomenal effort this year by all the New Zealand teams has proved “that yet again we are the country to beat. It’s astounding how far above our weight we punch and how we are respected and liked by teams across the world”.

“All the judges I have spoken to have been very impressed with the quality of the teams from New Zealand and how much they help other teams. We should be proud of our teams and I know they are well respected,” Mr Hamling says.

Vex Robotics was developed in response to a worldwide shortage of engineers. It is a platform for high school pupils with an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths to participate in an exciting, challenging game requiring teamwork, leadership and problem solving.

Onehunga High School, 1st, World Champions
Otumoetai College, 1st, Mathematics Division
Lynfield College, 1st, Science Division Champions
Onehunga High School, 1s, Engineering Champions
Auckland University, 1st, Autodesk Inventor CAD Design Champions
Kristin School, 2nd, Website Design Challenge
Pinehurst School: Community Award
MAX Home School: Amaze Award
Massey University: Build Award
Free Range Robotics: Sportsmanship Award
Auckland University: College Championship