The robots will be built and programmed to follow a course as part of the annual Strathmore Trophy competition, staged by the Division of Applied Computing. Teams of pupils from local secondary schools will be asked to design and build the robots and the computer program which controls them, before setting their creations out to see if they can conquer a head-to-head challenge to follow two preset courses.

Eleven teams from secondary schools across Dundee, Angus and Perth are taking part in the competition, hoping to collect the Strathmore Trophy and £100 worth of computer equipment for their school. Mary, Countess of Strathmore, who donated the magnificent trophy for the competition,will present it to the winners. Other prizes include computer software, cinema tickets and book tokens.

Lecturer Iain Murray, one of the organisers of the competition, said, "Although it just looks like fun, the Lego robots demonstrate many of the real design challenges in engineering - being able to design not just the hardware and software, but being able to design both to work together to solve the problem."

Although in its 12th year, this is the first year that the Strathmore Trophy competition has been held in the new Queen Mother Building, with the Wolfson Research Theatre being used as a superb grandstand for the battling robots.

For further information, please contact:
Louisa Cross, Applied Computing Division, University of Dundee.
(01382) 384151 Fax: (01382) 385509
e-mail: lcross@computing.dundee.ac.uk

For media enquiries contact:

Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk