The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) competitive robotics team – the Talons –participated in the University of Nebraska – Lincoln Inaugural Remote Skills Event April 16-17. The Talons were one of 13 colleges in the national weekend tournament which was Nebraska’s first remote, skills-only VEX U event, hosted by UNL’s VEX U team.
The Talons are currently tied with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for 42nd place worldwide, and in 34th place in programming. In 2019, the Talons placed 11th in the world in their division, fifth in the United States, and were one of only three U.S. community colleges to earn a spot at the VEX U World Robotics Championship and claim global recognition.
The Talons staged for the April event at CSM’s Velocity Center in Indian Head. The team is participated a series of matches played on a square field where they maneuver their robots to place balls in goals and connecting rows across the field.
The international and national VEX U competitions and skill events are sponsored by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation, whose mission is to increase student interest and involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Participating teams build robots to compete in a series of challenges through VEX U that involve maneuvering game elements and completing tasks.
Each year, VEX U creates a new game to challenges students to design robots to score the most points against their opponents. Because each game is different, students must critically think through new design iterations and strategies as they master the game.
