Patent ID: 7507169

Claim:
A method for fostering coopertition and gracious professionalism among students while inspiring an appreciation of science and technology, the method comprising: 1) establishing a contest played on a playing field with at least four robots, such robots designed and built with participation of such students, such contest requiring accomplishment repetitively of a designated physical task on the playing field, wherein: 2) (i) each robot is controlled by a distinct team of students and designed to repetitively accomplish the physical task, performance of which on the playing field by a given robot triggering attribution to a score based on frequency of achievement of the physical task by the given robot; and 3)(ii) the contest is conducted in matches between two competing alliances of the teams, each match including a plurality of teams from each alliance; 4) assigning a raw score after each match to each alliance based on frequency of achievement of the task by robots of each team in each such alliance; 5) determining a final score for a winning alliance in each match, such winning alliance having a raw score exceeding the raw score of the other alliance by enhancing the raw score of the winning alliance by adding to the raw score of the winning alliance the raw score of the other alliance, so that the winning alliance is thus motivated to cause the other alliance to achieve a high raw score, and the teams of each alliance must work cooperatively; 6) setting a final score for the other alliance in each match equal to the raw score achieved by that alliance; and 7) ranking the teams based on the final scores achieved in matches in which they participate; 8) so that the students, by engaging in the contest, are provided with an experience involving science and technology under processes as recited herein that motivate cooperation in the midst of competition for a highest final score on the playing field.