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265 students selected for robot OlympiadABU DHABI, Nov 14, 2011 (Khaleej Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has announced the selection of 265 students, from both public and private schools across the emirates, to represent the UAE National Team for the International World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2011. As many as 96 teams in the National WRO competition qualified for participation, including: 24 teams from Abu Dhabi City, 19 from Al Ain, 23 from Dubai, five from Fujairah, seven each from Madinat Zayed and Ras Al Khaimah and 11 from Ruwais. An additional six teams from special needs centres will participate in a special exhibition category hosted by the UAE WRO Organising committee. ADEC is hosting the 8th International World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in Abu Dhabi, for the first time in the Middle East from November 18-20. The WRO is one of the largest international robotic competitions for students, who compete in teams to assemble robots that will participate in challenges to solve a specific problem. The WRO platform allows young students to learn and apply their knowledge in science, engineering, maths and computer programming to build an intelligent robot. This year more than 1,000 students from 38 countries are expected to participate in the international event. The competition features three main categories In the Open category participants are asked to develop and present a robotic solution that would assist in improving the lives of humans while in the Regular category specific rules are given relating to a particular mission, which is determined by the age group categories. Elementary participants must develop and guide a robot, junior high participants must develop a stair climbing robot and high school participants must develop a recycling robot. Participants also face a surprise rule announced on the morning of the competition. The WRO GEN II Robot Football Category is comprised of participants between the ages of 11 to 19. Participants are asked to construct robots, including controller and sensors, for a 122cm by 183cm official football playing field. From the UAE National team, 12 teams will participate in the Gen II Robot Football category, 16 in the open category and 24 in the regular category. Another 50 teams, including six teams from special education programmes, will participate in a special exhibition Green City category, which has a focus on renewable energy themes. The ADEC is hosting Green City as an additional opportunity for students to engage with the WRO programme outside the international competition categories. Alongside the competition, the ADEC will be hosting the 4th International Symposium on Robotics in Education. The symposium will provide a forum for presenting and discussing the latest advances, improvements and challenges for robotics and its significant role in education. President of Raytheon Sarcos Dr Fraser M. Smith will open the symposium with a keynote speech. "It is a significant achievement for Abu Dhabi to have been selected as the host for this international event, that has traditionally has its roots in Far East Asia," Dr Najla Al Naqbi, Programme manager at the ADEC, said. ""We look forward to welcoming our international guests to participate in what we expect to be an exciting, educational, and cultural experience for all involved," she added. [email protected] Tweet ___ (c)2011 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |