The Watson Combat Robotics League (WCRL) is a student-run organization with the goal of establishing a hands-on, creative environment for students to learn more about robotics and engineering. Students who take part in the group work in teams to create robots that will destroy each opponent it faces.
Watch online
To stream the robot tournament online, go to the WCRL Binghamton YouTube Channel.
The WCRL will hold its first in-person tournament from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, on campus in the rotunda of the Innovative Technologies Complex.
WCRL - co-founded by Daniel Iacobacci, a computer engineering student and chair of the league, and Matt Simiele '20 - was ready to debut in spring 2020, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of continued pandemic restrictions on campus, last year's tournament was held over a two-week period to allow for social distancing among teams. The battles were live-streamed on the WCRL YouTube channel.
This year, the tournament will be live-streamed again as well as open to the public.
"We're excited to finally have the tournament in person," Iacobacci said. "I've been working on this project since my sophomore year when I co-founded it, and now I'm a senior, so it was definitely a long wait. It'll also be nice to have the full tournament we had planned years ago, rather than a modified version due to COVID-19. The modified version worked well last year, but we think having it in person will bring out everyone's competitive spirit!"
WCRL is composed of over 100 students divided into 24 teams. Of those 24 teams, 12 are anticipated to be competing in the tournament on Sunday.
Using Watson College's Fabrication Lab, teams design and 3D-print their robots with the goal of winning the tournament. Inspired partly by the television show "Battlebots," the WCRL was designed as a fun, accessible way for students to learn about robotics and engineering, regardless of their previous levels of experience.
