Yorkton student wins robotics contest

Yorkton Regional High School student Mike Kozushka took first place in the myRobotRumble SUMObot Competition in Saskatoon last month.

Kozushka, a Grade 10 student, entered the SIAST competition on March 22 along with a group of his peers from the YRHS Robotics Club. Each of them entered his or her own SUMObot developed in the days leading up to the competition.

SUMObots are small - roughly 10 cm cubed - autonomous robots built to compete against one another in a game similar to sumo wrestling. To win the match, a robot must push its opponent out of a circular ring.

The YRHS delegation performed exceptionally well among the 110 competitors registered. Four robots belonging to students from the school - Kozushka (first), Bo Chiasson (fourth), Veronica Pinette & Gabrielle Thomson (sixth), and Rachael Machnee (tenth) - had top-ten finishes. Ty Nelson, another YRHS student, took first in the consolation final.

The SUMObots are assembled from a kit provided by SIAST and then programmed and modified to a student's preferences. Kozushka's winning robot was originally built last year by Grade 12 student Taylor Pachal, who did not attend this year's event. The robot took fourth place last year.

Kozushka knew from its previous performance that his robot was equipped with a good "blade" - the bulldozer-like attachment to the front of the bots designed to wedge underneath an opponent. "If you can flip them up," he said, "it's almost game over from there."

All the robot needed, he decided, was a little fine-tuning. Kozushka made a few modifications in the week before the competition. He tweaked the bot's code with some help from another student, added high-traction gummy wheels, and installed an ultrasonic sensor.

As the robot's eyes into the world - the means by which it finds its opponent in the ring - the sensor is a key component. The infrared sensors used by most robots are susceptible to interference by ambient light: something Kozushka no longer had to worry about.

"It's more reliable than the infrared sensors, so that was an advantage."

To fit the new sensor, he had to cut the robot's blade in half, but the design remained effective.

Kozushka thinks he had a good robot, but he admits there is "a lot of luck" involved in SUMObot matches.

"If we did it again, I don't know if I'd come out on top, but hopefully I'd do well."

The YRHS student brought home a $1,500 SIAST scholarship, $150 cash, and an iPod Touch from his win.