8th Indian Robot Olympiad 2013 Success Meet, Hyderabad

Nothing stops those who desire to achieve and this is exactly what Sagar Saxena, Ch Karthik and Ch Meghana from Robo Club have shown. Although only 13 years old, Sagar and his team, &jreka, were awarded first place in the elementary category for their ingeniously built robot during the regional rounds of the Indian Robot Olympiad (1RO) here at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological University.

Museum on Sunday. It has. been a fantastic day for the team as theirs was the only robot that could complete the given task scoring full points in the shortest time. This is the first time the team has appeared for a regional competition on behalf of Robo Club and made Hyderabad proud by grabbing the first place in their category.

Two more teams Tranformers Hyd (Shashank, Aditya and Akshay) and Glittering Stars (Manasvini, Aneesha and Aditi) gave a tough fight to other teams and made their way to the Nationals.

This competition gains importance as it involves Creative Building, Problem Solving and programming. Young engineers as young as eight years old, from various parts of South India participated in the Olympiad to showcause their interest in robotics and machines. The participants were .involved in building their machines and programing them to perform the tasks set forth at the competition. Prodded and encouraged by their parents on one hand and Inspired and Guided by Coaches on the other hand, these children could easily deal with problems in getting mechanics of their machines right.

The competition is divided into three categories Senior High, Junior High and Elementary Categories having their own tasks and challenges. The competition involves Building of the robot using various parts, sensors, actuators etc., within 150 seconds, programing them and finishing a specific task given to each category.

Close to 50 teams from the South India participated in the competition. The winning teams in each category will qualify for the National Robot Olympiad scheduled to be held on 14th and 15th of September 2013 at New Delhi and those who win there will take part in the World Robotics Olympiad scheduled to be held from 15th to 17th November 2013 at Jakarta.

Out of 7 qualifying teams three teams from City - team Eureka (adjudged as winners of the regional competition) team Glittering Stars and Tranformers Hyd all in the elementary category and trained & nurtured by Robo Club qualified for National Robot Olympiad.

Ch Srinivas, in-charge of IRO Training at Robo Club said that “Future belongs to those who prepare for it today” and robotics is going to be the future. Competitions like IRO and FLL are platform for children to showcause their interest in machines he added.

G Srircim, in-charge of Robo Club operations at Hyderabad said that Robo Club provides an opportunity to play and learn, which is essential for child development. The courses offered at Robo Club are different from those offered by others as they are exclusively designed to suit diverse needs of Children of different age groups from 7 years to 19 years using internationally renowned Lego Mindstroms Educational kit he added.

Indian Robot Olympiad (IRO) is one of the largest Robotics competition in India for students between the age group of 9 to 19, held since 2006. It is a not-for-profit competition supported and organized by India Stem Foundation, an organization focused on bringing Science and Technology based learning solutions for students with the intervention of Robotics.
IRO is the Indian Chapter of World Robot Olympiad that provides a unique platform for students to showcase their talent and creativity and represent INDIA at the international level.

Vision:
"... creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."

Mission:
To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation.
To foster well-rounded essential life skills including self-confidence, communication, teamwork and leadership.
To promote research aptitude for Science & Engineering in students.
To prepare youngsters for the challenges of tomorrow

How does IRO work?
Schools, Colleges and individuals are invited to enter a team of two or three students to participate in this competition and are categorized according to their age groups. Teams can participate in regular or open category.
Participating teams need to create, design and build Robots using LEGO Mindstorms NXT to solve pre-defined missions.
Provide students up to the age of 19 an opportunity to expand their horizons through exploration of'Robots and Robotic systems in the school.
Introduce the concept of modern science into schools educational activities using ICT and technology.
Provide an opportunity to promote creative thinking, improve communications and cooperation'skills, strengthen the ability to acquire new knowledge, highly relevant towards progressive education.

Every Team will compete in a Regional Indian Robot Olympiad at their respective regions. The top scoring teams, as per eligibility criteria defined below, will compete in the National Finals in’ Delhi NCR in September 2013.

Slot from a regional to national will be decided as per the following criteria:-
1. A minimum score of-30 % in the category in which the team is participating

I. Elementary - 30 point's
II. Junior High - 30 points
III. Senior High - 30 points

2. A regional will have 1 slot in the national for every block of 5 team participating in the regional.
Top scoring teams, upto a maximum number of 24 teams consisting of 12 teams in Regular Category, 7 teams in Open Category and 5 teams in WRO GEN II Football, across all age groups, performing at The National Finals can represent 'Team India" in the World Robot Olympiad Jakarta 2013.

Schools Participating in IRO from South Zone:
1. Vellamal International Public School, Chennai.
2. DAV Public School
3. Indian Public School
4. Delhi Public School Vijayawada etc.

About Robo Club:
Robo Club (Estd. 2008) is the official training partner for Lego Mindstroms Education for South India and is the leading provider of ROBOTIC EDUCATION across Andhra Pradesh mentoring children in the age group of 7 to 19 years on Robotics. The course on robotics has been designed following STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) concept, covering areas on Light & reflection, sound waves, friction & gravity, velocity & speed, circles, diameter, radius, ratios, computers and programming, etc.

Apart from conceptual knowledge of Robotics, the young minds are encouraged to sharpen their logical thinking abilities, team skills, problem solving skills and creativity thus building competency. We also facilitate and guide our students to participate in National and International Olympiads in the field of robotics.'

We organize activity based “Robo Clubs" at schools as a co-curricular activity. We also organize summer camps, week-long trainings, after school sessions, workshops and competitions. Our students in the recent past have won at INDIAN ROBOT OLYMPIAD -2012 (IRO), and represented India at WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD -2012 (WRO).

References:

1. Ch. Srinivas, Chairman, Roboclub
2. Gunturi Sriramachandra Murthy, Exeecutive Director, Roboclub, Hyderabad
3. Ramreddy, Technical coordinator and Coach, Robolclub, Hyderabad
4. G.Shekar, Technical coordinator cum Coach, Roboclub, Hyderabad
5. Ramana, Technical Assistance, Roboclub, Hyderabad

Winning Team (Eurekha)
1. Sagar Saxena, Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Hyderabad
2. Ch.Karthik, Delhi Public School, Hyderabad
3. Ch.Meghana, Delhi Public School, Hyderabad

Selected teams for National IRO-2013 (to be held in September) under top 7 teams of regional Glittering Stars team:
1. V.Sai Anusha, DAV School, Hyderabad
2. Aditi Reddy, DAV School, Hyderabad
3. M.Manasvini, Vikas Public School, Hyderabad

Transformers HYD team:
1. Shashank Rajiv Moghe, Sloka, Hyderabad
2. R.Aditya, International School of Hyderabad, Patancheruvu, Hyderabad
3. P.S.V.D.Akshay, Neeraj Public School, Hyderabad