CF students win third place in national robotics competition

A College of Central Florida robotics team was awarded a bronze medal at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, held June 24-28 in Atlanta.

CF Engineering Technology students Cameron Muncy and Shane Reedy, under the guidance of award-winning associate professor Sam Ajlani, built, designed and constructed a robot for the SkillsUSA Urban Search and Rescue competition. During the event, they directed their robot to travel through a course designed to look like multifamily housing, searching for and removing simulated explosive devices.

“We are really excited to have represented our school on a national level and to have brought something back,” said Muncy, who expects to graduate in December and said he has “always been interested in cars and machines.” The CF team was the only Florida team to place in the Urban Search and Rescue category.

The SkillsUSA Championship is the premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled career and technical education students and is one of the largest hands-on workforce development events in the world. Held in conjunction with SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference each June, this awe-inspiring event features more than 6,000 state champions from across the United States competing head-to-head in 115 skilled and leadership competitions. CF students Justin Bowen and Daniel Francois represented the college in this year’s drone event.

“The College of Central Florida’s Engineering Technology program is focused on preparing students for a variety of high-paying, high-tech careers, including robotics,” said Dr. Jennifer Fryns, vice president of Workforce Development and Innovation. “We are so proud of the CF students who took the opportunity to apply practical engineering principles to real-world applications at the SkillsUSA competition.”