DPRG Meeting Information

The DPRG holds a variety of formal and informal meetings. Almost all are open to the general public. Some types of participation such as voting or entering competitions is limited to DPRG members. Coming to any of these meetings is a great way to find out more about the DPRG and vistors are always welcome. If you decide to join the DPRG, it's easy to do.

Regular Monthly Meeting

The DPRG monthly meetings are usually on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Monthly meetings normally include some type of presentation by one or more speakers, a show and tell session (bring your robot, working or not!), and general announcements and group business. Check the DPRG calendar for up to date information on the next meeting. Our normal meeting place is at the The Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park near downtown Dallas. The meetings start at 12:00 noon and go until 2:00 PM (sometimes 3:00 PM). The meeting room is past the snack bar, back in the area where the exhibits are. If you need help finding it, ask one of the Science Place people or just follow any robot-laden geeks you see. The DPRG secretary keeps monthly meeting minutes. If you miss a meeting, they're a good way to catch up on things! After the meeting members often adjourn to the Angry Dog or one of the other restaurants in nearby Deep Ellum to talk about robots over a late lunch.

Robot Builder's Night Out (RBNO)

The RBNO -- Robot Builder's Night Out -- is an informal get-together of robot enthusiasts for a hands-on, actually building robots, type of meeting. You don't have to be a DPRG member to attend. The RBNO's are open to the public. There may be power tools in use, however, so small children should not attend except under close adult supervision.

Tuesday Night RBNO - On Tuesday evenings starting about 7pm, we get together at the DPRG Warehouse (see the Google Map, Google Satellite Image, Yahoo! map and photo gallery). This is where we keep the extensive DPRG library and a variety of group-owned hardware and software. This the main, official RBNO and probably the most widely attened one. There is also a live webcast (video only at present) of this RBNO for those who want to participate but can't be there in person. There are contest courses set up so you can practice for the Roborama and Tabletop contests and you'll usually find a few other robots trying out the courses if you just want to watch. We now have a computer lab where you can work on software or just surf the web. Dinner is usually a provided through a joint effort (check the DPRG mailing list to find out what you should bring).

Robot Power Lunch (RPL)

A few of us Robot folks used to meet for lunch every once-in-awhile. Of course the main topic of discussion was Robots. A few more started coming, and then a few more, and pretty soon we had a VERY popular lunch meeting of Robot Enthusiasts who just can't seem to get enough. And so it became the Robotics Power Lunch. For a while the RPL was held every Thursday at Collin Creek Mall in Plano but due to the diverse locations of DPRG members, the location now varies depending on who wants to host an RPL. Check the DPRG mailing list to see when and where the next one will be. If you don't see anyone talking about one, feel free to suggest one in your area.

DPRG Robot Competitions

After all those meetings to talk about robots and build robots, we have to actually do something with them, don't we? That's what the DPRG Robot Competitions are all about. The DPRG holds a variety of competitions and contests throughout the year including our big semi-annual RoboRamas, smaller Robot Sumo contests, Table-top robot contest, a Robot Talent Show, and an annual regional for the Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest. Most DPRG competitions are held at The Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park.