South Central PA Robotics Competition

The South Central PA Robotics Competition^4.0 Competition was held at Penn State Harrisburg on November 15, 2014, with competitors from seven local high schools and organizations. This year's competition was organized by Penn State Harrisburg, HACC, Harrisburg International Composite Squadron 306, Dauphin County Tech and Cumberland and Perry Tech. Students from Penn State Harrisburg served on the organizing committee, and as judges and mentors for the competition.

Before the competition, free robot kits were provided to the high schools, thanks to the competition's sponsors. As a result, students were able to familiarize themselves with the kits before the competition. In addition, prior to the contest, Penn State Harrisburg Computer Science students provided guidance for some high schools to help students prepare for the contest.

For the competition, students were assigned to a random team, with students working with teammates from another school. The students had three hours to complete five tasks, requiring the students to program their robots for various challenges involving sensing, movement, and control. The top four teams then competed in a final round to determine the winners. The final round, shown in the image at the left, consisted of a race to the center of a large maze. All of the contestants from the top three teams will receive plaques and prizes in the weeks following the competition. The final results from the competition are listed below.

2014 Competition Results

First Place Team

• Derek Barnwell Jr. (Harrisburg High School)
• Dylan Dodson (Lower Dauphin High School)
• Jordan Sullivan (Susquehanna Township High School)

Second Place Team

• Diocel Almacen (Susquehanna High School)
• Cody Jacobs (Dauphin County Technical School)
• Zach Probst (Hershey High School)

Third Place Team

• Natalie Ketner (Hershey High School)
• Peter Lee (Hershey High School)
• Max Pelna (Susquehanna Township High School)

Fourth Place Team

• Edward Evans (CAP 306)
• Sterling Gray (CAP 306)
• Mohammad Tanveer (Dauphin County Technical School)

Previous Competition Results

Results of the previous competitions are available on this website:

• The South Central PA Robotics Competition^3.0 (2013)
• The South Central PA Robotics Competition^2.0 (2012)