Robots are the main theme for the Open Day for Computing Science. There will be a number of intelligent robots on display in the Elphinstone Hall, and some real and virtual ones within the Department.
‘This is a fun way to find out about what we do in Computing Science for everyone interested in studying the subject, or just interested in robots and robotics’, says Dr Pete Edwards, Head of Computing Science. During the four year undergraduate degree, students have the opportunity to design and program their own robot. In addition, anyone is free to download a robot simulator from the Department’s website and join in a soon to be launched web-based robot programming league; the “virtual” league will give members of the wider community including school pupils the chance to compete against undergraduates, PhD students and others.Where else would the potential exist for a school student to battle and potentially defeat a PhD student?
The league will be based around the Robocode simulator, originally developed at IBM's AlphaWorks in the USA; Robocode is swiftly bringing the productivity of the world's IT departments to a complete halt as thousands of developers discover that they aren't the only ones who dream of programming their own battle bots. It may all seem like fun at first but the whole point of Robocode is that it provides an environment in which to learn some pretty serious and heavy computer programming concepts.
Of course, there is much more to Computing Science at the University of Aberdeen. The Department is internationally renowned for its research in artificial intelligence and knowledge technologies. ‘Students here complete their degree in a research-intensive environment’, explains Dr Edwards, ‘Our programmes are a challenging mix of theory and practice and are designed to equip graduates with the skills they need for a successful career in research and development, in industry or academia.’
Prospective students, parents and visitors are invited to view the facilities within the Department in the Meston Building, including the brand new high-spec PC labs and teaching accommodation.
Be sure to check out the demonstration of the lego robots that are used in teaching.
Department of Computing Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK
phone +44 (0)1224 272295, fax +44 (0)1224 273422
