Aberystwyth University celebrates UK Robotics Week

Members of the Aberystwyth Robotics Club at Beach Lab 2017

Budding robot engineers and builders of all ages are invited to take part in Aberystwyth Robotics Week which takes place on 25-30 June 2018.

Hosted by Aberystwyth University’s Departments of Computer Science and Physics, the week-long programme of events forms part of UK Robotics Week.

At the University’s Old College there will be robot crafting sessions for everyone, robot olympics for schools and an evening to celebrate Aberystwyth’s space robotics work.

Aberystwyth Arts Centre’s cinema also features on the programme with a special screening of the 2015 sci-fi feature film Ex_Machina, followed by a discussion on the latest developments in artificial intelligence and robotics.

The week culminates with the highly popular Beach Lab at Aberystwyth Bandstand where visitors will be able to learn about, and play with, robots of all kinds in the company of the Aberystwyth Robotics Club.

There are also opportunities to take part in two competitions. Entries are invited for a short story competition, a 400 word piece on ‘Living in the future with robots’, ‘An adventure with a robot’ or ‘My friend is a robot’.

And for those who would prefer to design a poster, the themes are ‘An outdoor robot’, A space robot’ or ‘A companion robot’.

Entries should be submitted by e-mail to roboticsweek@aber.ac.uk by Friday 22 June 2018, with the winners announced on Friday 29 June at the Old College space robotics evening. Further details are available online here.

Robotics Week co-ordinator Dr Patricia Shaw said: “We are delighted to be part of a UK wide celebration of all things robotics this year. The aim of Aberystwyth Robotics Week is to inspire people’s interest in robotics and give them the opportunity to find out more about the developments taking place here at Aberystwyth University. All the events are open to everyone.”

Aberystwyth Robotics Week 2018 Programme:

• Monday 25 until Friday 29 June, 10:00am–4:00pm, Old College
  Robotics Exhibition
  There will be a growing exhibition featuring the robotics and space science research, robot crafts and a selection of the competition entries.
• Monday 25 June, 1:00-3:00pm, Old College
  The Robot Olympics
  A competition for teams from local primary schools to engineer a robot to take part in a series of robotics challenges.
• Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 June, 4:00-6:00pm, Old College
  Robot Craft
  An opportunity to craft your own robot from whatever parts you can find in our scrapheap of paper, pens, and craft supplies. Robots can be displayed as part of the exhibition. Price: £1 per robot.
• Wednesday 27 June, 4:00-9:00pm, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
  From Fiction to Reality: a special screening of sci-fi feature film Ex_Machina followed by a round table discussion about the latest developments in artificial intelligence and robotics. An exhibition and free pizza will be provided. Tickets available from Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
• Friday 29 June, 4:00-9:00pm, Old College
  An Evening of Space Robotics
  Researchers at Aberystwyth University have a long and distinguished involvement with space exploration. Aberystwyth scientists played a leading role in Beagle2 and feature prominently in the development of the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Rover mission which is due to launch in 2020. The evening will feature a presentation by Sue Horne MBE, UKSA Head of Space Exploration and the unveiling of a life size model of the ExoMars Rover for outreach. Tickets are free and can be booked online here.
• Saturday 30 June, 10:00am-4:00pm, Aberystwyth Bandstand
  Beach Lab
  The highly popular Beach Lab returns offering a day at the beach with robots and humans from the Aberystwyth Robotics Club.

Aberystwyth Robotics Week 2018 has received support from the Heritage Lottery Fund Further details about the week’s programme are available online here.

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