• :: Home

• :: Register

• :: Maslab 2008

• :: Past Years

• :: FAQ

• :: Gallery

• :: Sponsors

• :: Staff/Contact

Check out past highlight videos! 2007 : 7MB | 24MB
2006 : 6MB | 17MB
2005 : 8MB | 23MB
2004 : 9MB | 28MB
2003 : 8MB | 30MB

Previous Maslab Competitions

Maslab was conceived in 1998 by Edwin Olson and Max Bajracharya as a "hard core" robotics competition that would use high-end components to solve research-caliber robotics problems. They developed a robotics controller, "Otto", to fill a void in the affordable and high-performance robotic controller market. It wasn't until 2001 that the first IAP course was offered, with registration limited to three teams. Maslab has grown rapidly since those humble beginings to one of the premier robotics contests at MIT with over 50 students participating each year. The complexity of the contest has increased as the hardware and tools evolved. The dedicated Maslab staff is continually improving the contest and looks forward to many more years of creative students, innovative robots, and great fun!

		Maslab 2006 Maslab 2006 added the green powerball, which was worth extra points when deposited in the green powergoal. This provided a new challenge in mapping, planning, and navigation for ambitious teams.
		Maslab 2005 The 2005 contest added a new twist by allowing robots to score extra points for putting red balls through "field goals". The course hardware and software continues to improve each year, and Maslab is fast become one of the premier robotics contests in the country.
		Maslab 2004 We're getting good at this! Maslab 2004 replaced cans with wooden balls, green tubes, and yellow mouse holes. Hardware and software were similar to 2003, but Java replaced C++. We moved to a larger workshop and equipped it better than ever.
		Maslab 2003 Maslab's third year saw several improvements including a larger organizational staff, a new robotics controller board, and a sophisticated client/server debug framework. 2003 marked the first year that Maslab used a primarily vision-based contest.
		Maslab 2002 2002 would see a five-fold increase in registration, and would incorporate much of what was learned the previous year. Students were given faster hardware and a better software environment which allowed for much more flexbility.
		Maslab 2001 This was the first Maslab competition and as such registration was limited to three adventurous teams. 2001 taught us a lot about what students can (and can't!) do during a month, and what structure an IAP robotics course should have.