“We think that Dayton has a strong tradition of the design build, so tapping into that legacy, we give students an opportunity to design robots, to throw them into battle, to get feedback, and to redesign and rebuild,” said Jeffrey Blair, board member for Xtreme STEM, one of the event’s organizers.
Blair said the goal of the event, and the preparation that goes into it on behalf of the students who build and perfect their robots in the months leading up to the competition, is to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
“We’re giving students an opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn about what they want to do with their lives, but by doing it in a fun way that involves a lot of carnage,” Blair said, noting the theme of the competition that often results in sparks and metal pieces flying within the battle ring.
Katherine Clemmer and Owen Cokley are both third-year students in the University of Cincinnati’s mechanical engineering program, and were teammates during Saturday’s event.
Both graduates of Centerville City Schools, Clemmer and Cokley said their interest in STEM subjects blossomed after they took a battle bots/engineering course in high school.
“We both ended up really loving it,” Clemmer said.
The teammates said the Xtreme BOTS battle event is a great resource for students interested in learning more about the world of STEM and its potential career pathways.
“It gives you real world experience,” Clemmer said. “You can take as many engineering courses as you want, but you may miss a lot of the manufacturing side of it that you need to have to be really successful as an engineer, so to have this as our gateway is really helpful.”
Cokley shared these sentiments, adding that the “try and try again” attitude associated with the manufacturing of battle bots allows for creativity while problem-solving.
“All of this is 100% designed from scratch,” Cokley said. “You design it to your own standards; there’s such a wide variety of possibilities, so it’s challenging to get it right.”
According to The Manufacturing Institute, for every 100 open manufacturing jobs available in the United States, about 58 people are looking for them. Xtreme STEM is a 501©(3) organization producing programs that engage students in STEM disciplines, raising awareness of in-demand career opportunities and filling the advanced manufacturing workforce pipeline.
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