Silly Walk Robot Races

Students in the Robotics elective put their creativity to the test this month with a "Silly Walk Robot" challenge, competing to design robots that could travel the length of a table, without using wheels. Forced to think beyond traditional movement, teams engineered inventive solutions, building robots that crawled like crabs, spun on spider-like legs, or flopped across the table like a fish out of water. The challenge pushed students to think like engineers, brainstorming creative ways to propel their robots forward without wheels while carefully considering the physics behind their designs, recognizing that factors like leg length would significantly impact each robot’s movement.

Using LEGO SPIKE kits, each group designed and built a robot without wheels. Once their designs were complete, students added a sensor and, in a twist from the usual setup, powered their creations with a single motor instead of two. On race day, excitement and nervous energy filled the room as teams lined their robots up at one end of the table. When Creativity and Design Chair Mark Evans gave the signal to "Go!", a burst of chaotic energy followed: some robots veered off course into their neighbors, others careened off the sides of the table, and a few managed to stay on track — all to the cheers and laughter of the crowd.

Before the second heat, each team had the opportunity to fine-tune their designs based on what they had learned from the first race. Several teams, for example, discovered that their robots had stopped short of the finish line because they hadn't programmed enough motor rotations. This quick adjustment led to stronger performances in the next round. In the second round, one robot even crossed the finish line successfully, as its team cracked the challenge of achieving forward motion in a straight line — no small feat without wheels!