Mathworks has been a partner of BEST Robotics since 2009. BEST and Mathworks first became acquainted when one of the BEST game committee members presented at a poster session of a technical conference. The topic was the new BEST B.R.A.I.N., which was based on a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller. Mathworks representatives were attending the conference, saw what BEST had created and knew that MATLAB/Simulink could generate code for the MSP430. This led to conversations about using Simulink (a graphical design tool) as a programming platform for the BEST robots.

Since that first beginning, Mathworks and BEST have worked closely on several educational developments for the BEST program including:

• BEST Robotics customized Simulink library
• Simulink Summer Workshops (multi-day in-person and online workshops)
• Simulink Design Award
• Virtual Game (and Autonomous Programming Challenge) using Mechanics Explorer and the Robotics Playground
• Robot Modeling Challenge