What: Media outlets are invited to attend the Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) at the University of Southern California (USC), hosted by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR). Roboticists of all ages will gather for informational sessions, student talks, and – of course – robot competitions. Highlights include:
- a robot showcase
- the International Botball Robotics Tournament
- the International Elementary Botball Challenge
- the KIPR Autonomous Aerial Robot (Drone) Tournament
- the KIPR Open Robotics Tournament
When: Tuesday, July 29 through Sunday, August 3
The full schedule can be found online at http://www.kipr.org/gcer/schedule. Media outlets interested in seeing the robot competitions will likely want to attend on Aug. 2 and 3, when the robots compete in head-to-head elimination rounds.
Who:
Steve Goodgame, Executive Director of KIPR
Ross Mead, PhD Research Fellow with the Interaction Lab in USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Where:
Radisson Hotel: main conference activities and invited speakers
Galen Center: robot tournaments
Tutor Campus Center: student and educator talks
Parking: Print media may park at Parking Structure X, across the street from the Radisson Hotel. Enter at Gate 3 off of Figueroa Street at McCarthy Way and show your press badge to the gate attendant. Broadcast news vans may park either on Flower Street behind the Galen Center or in the parking spaces in front of the Radisson Hotel.
Why: The conference gives robotics students, educators, enthusiasts, and professionals an opportunity to connect, share ideas, and discuss the latest advances in robot technology. It also provides a forum for teams to pit their robots against one another in head-to-head competitions. This year’s competitions focus on assisting in physical rehabilitation; robots are tasked with helping the Botball mascot, Botguy, perform rehab exercises – demonstrating one of the many practical applications of robots in the future.
Sponsors for the event include the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the National Science Foundation, USC Civic Engagement, the USC Viterbi Computer Science Department and the USC Viterbi STEM Consortium.
About the USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Engineering Studies began at the University of Southern California in 1905. Nearly a century later, the Viterbi School of Engineering received a naming gift in 2004 from alumnus Andrew J. Viterbi, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm now key to cell phone technology and numerous data applications. Consistently ranked among the top graduate programs in the world, the school enrolls more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students, taught by 174 tenured and tenure-track faculty, with 60 endowed chairs and professorships. http://viterbi.usc.edu
Contact
Robert Perkins at (213) 740-9226 or perkinsr@usc.edu
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