Student engineers from two colleges or universities square off to build radio-controlled robots that are capable performing a specific task. Each team -- assisted by a single robotics expert -- has a single day to build a robot from scratch materials. At the end of the day the two robots battle it out in a timed match.
In episode 204, teams from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Rochester are asked to design and build a robot that can (1) move within an enclosed area and cut grass (2) without the use of traditional spinning blades or wires. Both robots compete well, but WPI chooses speed over accuracy and pays the price in the end. Rochester cuts more grass and advances to the next round of Robot Rivals.
