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Festival Pavilion
The fourth annual International RoboGames returns to Fort Mason Center in mid-June with new events and android athletes with incredible abilities from skateboarding to abstract painting.
Billed as one of the "10 Best North American Geek Fests" by Wired magazine in 2006, RoboGames has also attracted coverage on ESPN, CNN, the Discovery Channel, and network news programs.
Giant combat juggernauts, nimble androids, six-legged hexapods, and many other wheeled or walking devices from 28 nations match skills in dozens of disputes. Humanoid robots battle for dominance in many contests, including wrestling, stair climbing, and foot races. Robots in all shapes and sizes display their prowess at fighting fires, solving mazes, navigation, and mixing drinks. Robot hockey, android basketball, and triathlons are also in the lineup.
Humans wearing external exoskeleton frameworks and braces compete in special Tetsujin categories for weightlifting, dexterity, and walking races. Tetsujin participant They Shall Walk is a nonprofit group developing robotic exoskeletons as part of ongoing medical research to help people with disabilities.
US robots and teams swept the 2006 RoboGames, winning most of the gold, silver, and bronze medals in all categories. However, the 2007 championships are up for grabs as more contestants enter the games from all over the world.
For soccer fans, the 2007 RoboGames hosts the 12th annual RoboWorld Cup, sponsored by the Federation of International Robosoccer Association (FIRA). Fort Mason Center is the first US venue for FIRAs renowned event, which welcomes teams from more than 20 countries.
RoboGames founder and Robotic Society of America president David Calkins looks forward to the FIRA World Cup. Calkins, who is also director of San Francisco State University's engineering design center and robotics program, hopes to diversify robotics by bringing together researchers and robot fans from many fields to exchange ideas and have fun.
"It's great to see soccer alongside fighting robots and all the other events everyone is really learning from each other," said Calkins.
Educating the next generation and keeping events accessible are top RoboGames priorities. Children and school teams enter contests for free and young spectators get in free on Friday. Affordable RoboGames contests are open to all from professional and university research teams to amateur challengers.
For more information, see June 15 in the calendar and visit www.robogames.net. Go to www.fira.net for details about the RoboWorld Cup.
Claudia Willen
Photos:
A fiery moment from a previous RoboGames.
Young attendee enjoys a robot demo.
A robot man lights up his computer chip-walled lair. |
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