RP bags silver in World Robot Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines - Three elementary pupils from the Philippines won the silver medal in the Open Category of the World Robot Olympiad last week at Yokohama, Japan. Bagging the silver medal together with a certificate and a trophy were Joseph Aldrin Chua, Edrich Hans Chua and Dominique Hannah Sy, all from Grace Christian Elementary School. It was the first time that the Philippines got a medal for the Open Category in the Elementary Level. Titled “Green Whiz Community and the G-Tech Robot Engineering a Better World," the children's entry featured 12 robots doing various tasks to help save the environment. Tizon said they used several robots to show the urgency to save the environment and that technology could be used to stop the destruction of the world. The featured robots include Next Gen Car, a lightweight hydrogen powered car for the next generation which consumes lesser energy; H2O Treatment Robot which is designed to filter waste water from a factory for safe disposal; E-Sorter, a robot that sorts biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage using color coding of container; Paper Recycling Area, a factory robot that recycles used paper into something usable; Iced Sub-Zero Robot, a robot that makes melted ice in the polar region back into ice form; and Forest Surveillance Robot, a robot with a built in camera that guards forests and waterfalls from illegal loggers and hunters. Other robots used in the competition were AD Robot, a robot at the top of the mountain that advertises the importance of planting trees in order to save the earth; Air Pollution Monitor Robot, a robot designed to monitor the level of carbon dioxide and other pollutants; CO2 Sequester E3K, a robot designed to sequester carbon dioxide emitted by factories; E-Card which is used as the switch on and off household appliances; Heliostatic mirrors which is a robot equipped with mirrors that follow the light of the sun and magnify it as an alternative source of light and WM 123 which are windmill robots that serve as an alternative source of energy for the community. Students from Benigno Aquino High School and the International School of Manila both won certificates in the Open Category of the High School and Primary Levels, respectively. Capturing the gold medals for the Open Category were Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea for the Senior High School, Junior High School and Primary Levels, respectively. In the Regular Category, South Korea got gold medals for the primary and junior high school levels while Sweden got the top prize for the senior high school level. South Korea obtained three gold medals, Singapore got one silver and one bronze, and Malaysia got one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals for the entire event. Under the Open Category, student contestants were tasked to create robots with the theme “Saving the Global Environment" which were judged based on their appearance, uniqueness, interactive behavior, good engineering and stability. The Philippines has been on a roll in winning medals at the WRO as it won gold medals in the Open Category at the High School level. Science Education Institute Director Dr. Ester B. Ogena said the Philippine team’s triumph is a proof that Filipino students could be at par with pupils around the world. “Our students have shown their best and given more opportunities like these, we could tap more potential in the field of robotics," she said. Ogena avowed to increase more support in robotics as it takes the lead, together with FELTA Multi-media, in preparing for the staging of the WRO in the Philippines in 2010. “Preparations are underway for this grand event and we are very excited with the privilege that we would be hosting the WRO two years from now," she said. Ogena said the WRO is a good training ground for future engineers who would to improve the way of living in the world through robotics. “Our end goal in supporting the WRO is to entice our students to venture into science careers and beef up the critical mass of scientists and engineers our country needs," she said. - GMANews.TV