World Robot Olympiad finals kick off with Syria’s participation

The finals of the 11th World Robot Olympiad Russia 2014kicked off on Saturday in the Russian city of Sochi with the participation of Syria.
Muhib al-Neqri, head of the Syrian team participating in the event, told SANA’s correspondent in Moscow that the team is participating in two categories: the Junior High age group and the Senior High age group, with each one tackling different space-themed challenges.
The Junior High team, which is from the Syrian Computer Society, will tackle a challenge focusing on clearing space debris using their robot, and the Senior High team, which is from the Higher Institute for Applied Sciences and Technology, will tackle a challenge focusing on checking solar panels and replacing them, also using their robot.
The World Robot Olympiad is a global robotics competition for young people between the ages of 13 and 19, and was held for the first time in 2004 in Singapore. The teams participating in its main event, the regular competition, must build a robot to tackle specific challenges and carry out tasks set by the event’s organizers.
There are also college competitions, open competitions where contestants build a robot with a specific theme, and football competitions where two teams’ robots compete in miniature football matches.