The Robotics Education and Competition Foundation is bringing its annual aerial drone competition to Southlake next month, and Carroll High School will be hosting it on its own turf.
The RAD Competition is a drone tournament that tests high school and middle school teams with their piloting skills through two different matches: drone racing and package delivery. CHS STEM teacher Steven Nathman says drone racing challenges how quickly contestants can make it through three laps of an obstacle course while package delivery requires entrants to deliver a payload before returning it to the starting line.
"This is my first one to host," Steven says. “We are only one of two schools in Texas to host this year. This will be a great event for students to showcase their skills in this rapidly growing technology.”
Steven says this is one of several RAD Competitions going on across the nation. Winners from all 40 of these competitions will get the chance to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship in April in Kentucky.
“It’s exciting for us because students get to travel to Kentucky to compete and represent their school,” Steven expresses. “This year will be a learning process for everyone, but this will eventually be as big and popular as the VEX robotics tournaments.”
Registration for Carroll High School’s inaugural RAD Competition on March 1 is open until Feb. 28. Admission prices for one-to-three person teams are $30 with 16 slots available. If you would like to attend or want to learn more about the upcoming drone tournament, email Steven.Nathman@southlakecarroll.edu or visit RoboticsEducation.org.