Tablet PCs running Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition aren't scheduled to hit the streets until this fall, but Microsoft, through the iCampus program between it and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), provided prototype Acer Tablet PCs, to participants in the 2002 International Design Competition (IDC) to help create, of all things, a robot war.

At the IDC final competition on Friday, August 16 at M.I.T., intense, bright, mechanical-engineering students representing universities from around the globe pitted their original working robots against each other in an effort to take the prize for creative-design prowess. The competition was also, it turned out, an international goodwill festival, which organized diverse students in cross-university teams for engineering challenges, structured creativity, outrageous fun, and an opportunity to build friendships that could spark ongoing collaboration to solve real-world engineering problems.

The IDC started thirteen years ago, when two professors from M.I.T. and the Tokyo Institute of Technology decided to see if, given an identical sophomore-level mechanical engineering design course, students from different countries would perform differently in a design competition. The idea grew, becoming an annual competition involving students and staff from universities in Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The IDC also boasts a roster of big-name sponsors, including Agência Estado (the Brazilian state information agency), Mitsubishi Electric, Microsoft, NHK (the Japanese broadcasting corporation), PTC, and SolidWorks.

A Tablet-Driven Competition

This year, 42 students, the outstanding designers from their respective schools, were divided into eight cross-university teams. Each team was provided with at least two Tablet PCs and kits with materials such as motors, wheels, magnets, and ball bearings that the teams could use to design, build, and test a robot. The Tablet PCs had Design software—SolidWorks 2001 and Pro/Engineer 2001 CAD software—installed to complement Windows Journal, a note-taking application that does handwriting recognition. The tablets also had Microsoft Office applications that were upgraded to support inking technology. Using a special pen, students could draw and write in different colors directly on the Tablet PC screen, project their work in collaborative sessions, and store robot design iterations on the contest's server.

The competitors pounded away on their Tablet PCs for two weeks and the results were impressive. During the final competition, Dr. Alex Slocum, M.I.T. Professor in charge, demonstrated how the teams used Tablet PCs during the collaborative design process. He explained that the devices allowed participants to view one another's hand-drawn sketches far earlier in the process than in previous competitions. Slocum went on to predict, "The world can be a happier place by giving people around the world a collaborative design tool like the Tablet PC."

The working robots competed on the IDC 2002 Contest Rock 'n Roll Table, a billiards-table–size contraption that sat on the floor. The table consisted of a curved center with two starting blocks, two pendulums, 92 street hockey balls, and 40 hockey pucks each divided into two groups at opposite ends of the table. The objective of each 45-second heat was for the two competing robots to swing the pendulums and also push the balls and pucks into scoring bins at each end of the table. The contest took the better part of an afternoon and was attended by the participating students, their graduate assistants, professors, the media, representatives of the contest sponsors, past competitors, and interested observers, including about fifty elementary and junior high school students.

As an international summit and technology road test, the competition appeared to be a success. No doubt, Microsoft representatives were pleased with the reception Windows XP Tablet PC Edition enjoyed. David Python, a competitor from the Universidade de Sāo Paulo, told us, "Working with Tablet PCs allowed us to immediately break through any language barriers. While not every student spoke perfect English, everyone could interpret each other's design sketches from the first day we arrived."

Of course, as with any technology, early adopters were quick to notice where there was room for improvement. A Microsoft representative left with a list of enhancements that the participating students requested in a future release of the new Tablet PC operating system.