The 10th annual South Central Pennsylvania Robotics Competition was held on Nov. 13 at the campus of Penn State Harrisburg, which co-hosts the event with HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. This year, 11 teams of middle and high school students completed various challenges by programming Boe-Bot robots. Participants were from Civil Air Patrol Squadron 306, C.H.A.S.E. Academy Homeschool Co-op, Middletown Area High School, Susquehanna Township High School, and William Penn High School.

In the first round, teams were presented with six tasks - the Box Challenge, Dark Room Challenge, Pachinko Challenge, Slam Dunk Challenge, Traveling Salesman, and Robot Combat Challenge. Points were gained when each task was completed with precision and speed. Students used teamwork and critical thinking skills to navigate each task.

The four top scoring teams advanced to the final maze challenge. These teams had to program their robots to navigate a 4-by-6-foot maze, the layout of which was revealed on the day of the competition. After two elimination rounds, the team of Civil Air Patrol Cadets Samuel Dougherty, Jack Traynor, and Ian Benrud was awarded first place in the finals. Second place went to Susquehanna Township High School, and third went to C.H.A.S.E. Academy Homeschool Co-op. This year, all winners were presented with Amazon gift cards, a drone, and a certificate.

To learn more about the annual competition, visit https://h3turing.cs.hbg.psu.edu/robotics/index.html or contact Dr. Aldo Morales at awm2@psu.edu.

For more information about the Civil Air Patrol, visit http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com or email Capt. Richard Burdette at rburdette@harrisburgintl.cap.gov.