By Andy Choi
The World Robot Olympiad Arabia this year saw 1,500 students form 300 plus teams to participate in the three categories. The WRO 2011 was hosted in the capital city of Abu Dhabi.
Students cam from across the United Arab Emirates, Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait , Bahrain, Oman and Egypt to participate in the ‘Robots for Improvement’ event which kick started the WRO.
51 teams came from the Northern Emirate and 250 teams were gathered from public and private schools across Abu Dhabi. Almost 1,000 of the participating students in the WRO Arabia were from the UAE. This is the first time that a WRO has been organized for the Arabian region.
Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council highlighted the importance of teaching robotics at the opening ceremony. He said that teaching robotics expands the students’ horizons in the field of science and technology applications.
The three categories that the teams took part in were regular, open and football. In the regular category teams had to assemble a robot to solve a specific problem. In the open category teams had to present designs for a robot on a certain theme. The theme for 2011 was Robots for a Better Life. Each team consisted of 3 students and one coach.