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10 schools attend annual robotics contest

Dubai - Children from as young as eight took part in the robotics challenge

Ten schools from across the UAE attended the University of Wollongong in Dubai's (UOWD) 6th annual robotics competition. The participating teams impressed the panel judges with their innovative robotic creations and technical abilities.
Children from as young as eight took part in the robotics challenge which saw the teams competing in three categories to test their expertise: mini volleyball; the storage challenge; and the open category.
"This year, we had a wide range of age-groups participating," said Dr Zeenath Khan, chair of the Logistics Committee for the competition this year.
The judges were impressed by the inspiring and creative robotic displays designed by the pupils and their mentors.
The GEMS Our Own Indian School was among the top performers, picking up the first prize in the mini volleyball category with the New World Private School being awarded the second prize.
"This was our first participation in such a challenge and it was an amazing experience. For us, there is no such thing as limits. We always try to find solutions to problems. This event certainly triggered our interest in robotics - an area of interest we may pursue in future studies", commented Aman Muhammed on behalf of his team.
In the storage category, the Emirates Science Club won the first prize, demonstrating their robot's ability to move storage boxes to a specific destination effectively.
The show-stopper was the Kindergarten Starters who won the open category for their innovative project on how to find your way around a mall with a robot that uses movement sensors to detect the speed of movement and can act upon identifying colours such as red and green. The second place was awarded to the GEMS Modern Academy.
Rahi Kadam, digital learning coach at Kindergarten Starters said: "This is a great platform for children to encourage them to open their imagination and to bring to life such remarkable and creative ideas.
"Today we have seen truly impressive and innovative projects, all presented with confidence - a key skill that is a necessity in the job market. Engineering is all about finding solutions to problems with available resources. We have seen our future engineers in action as they clearly demonstrated their ability to apply critical thinking in finding solutions," commented Dr Farhad Oroumchian, associate dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, and founder of the Robotics Competition.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai