Robots Take Over Toms River

The Jersey Shore Makerfest is coming to the Pine Belt Arena at Toms River High School North this Saturday.

Dr. Marc Natanagara, assistant superintendent of the Toms River Regional School District and one of the organizers of the Makerfest, says the event is "not a fundraiser, a tradeshow, or an exhibition, but an experiential event." Last year, attendees got to fly a drone, paint a decoy, control robots, replace an outlet, build a lightsaber, write an app, and even clip a bonsai.

This year will feature the Robot Smackdown! Bring your own or build a robot on-site to compete in the Mazemaster, Robolympics or the Speedroid contests. Then take part in the Robot Pageant where the robots will be judged on beauty, form and function.

Just don't program a sophisticated A.I. into your robot that makes it turn against its human overlords.