A big weekend for about 500 middle and high school students, taking part in the regional Botball Tournament in Norman.

The kids are building special robots. KISS Institute for Practical Robots Executive Director Steve Goodgame said no remote controls are used, meaning the robots basically think for themselves.

"These are not remote controlled cars. What these kids do is they build the mechanics of the robot, then they have to code it with the computer based on sensor feedback from the robot. So, in essence it's an intelligent robot," Goodgame told KTOK.

He said the robots are programmed to basically think for themsleves, in tasks such as finding a ball, picking it up, and placing it in a basket.

Goodgame said in the future, such applications could be used in medical procedures, and even self-driving cars.

Students from Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and north Texas are in Norman for the event.