Trine’s 1st football robot 3rd in Combine drill

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Though a rookie to the event, one of Trine University’s first football robots managed to capture third in a drill at the Collegiate Robotic Football Conference (CRFC) 2022 National Championship and Combine.

Held April 2 at St. Mary’s College, the event is the annual conclusion of the CRFC’s season, allowing robotic football clubs from multiple universities the opportunity to show off their creations’ skills in 10 areas, including strength, snaps, kicking and passing.

The Trine robot, designed by software engineering major Christopher Ferguson and computer engineering major Elliot Wannemacher, both of Defiance, Ohio, placed third in the three-cone drill with a time of 12.4 seconds. The top place went to a robot from Valparaiso that had a time of 9 seconds.

“This was a great start for Trine’s Robotic Football Club,” said Sameer Sharma, Ph.D., faculty advisor.

Ferguson said he and Wannemacher learned about the team last year from Dr. Sharma and decided to take more of a leadership role this year.

“We enjoy working on robotics, and this is a great opportunity,” he said. “Designing the best robots while meeting the rules and requirements of the competition provides an interesting challenge.”

He said the pair designed Trine robots based on designs provided by the conference. After attending the competition, they have many ideas on how to improve the designs for next year.

“We thought our robots performed well for it being our first year at the competition, but there are definitely some improvements we would like to make,” he said.

Photo: Christopher Ferguson, a software engineering major at Trine University, with some of the university's first football robots.

Last Updated: 04/11/2022