Robotics Innovations Competition And Conference (Ricc): Building Community Between Academia And Industry Through A University Level Student Competition

Abstract

While robotics competitions exist at the K-12 and university levels, these are notably based on games with a fixed set of rules. We believe that existing competitive games do not suffice, and what is needed is a competition that emphasizes the engineering of solutions to open-ended realworld problems inviting creativity and innovation. Therefore, we developed a Robotics Innovations Competition and Conference (RICC) to build an intercollegiate and multidisciplinary community of students, faculty, and industry promoting the education of entrepreneurially-oriented robotics engineering students. The first regional competition and conference was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute November 7-8, 2009.