Batangas students win in World Robotics Olympiad with mini diner entry

The latest award-winning Filipino concept: A cafe where Filipino robots can enjoy a hot cup of kapeng barako.

High school students from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) in Tanauan City, Batangas brought home the champion’s trophy in the open category of the World Robotics Olympiad in Nanjing, China for their entry "Rossum’s Universal Restaurant, El Batangueño Coffeeshop."

Kim Marco Perez, Dann Joseph Garcia and Francisco Gabriel Nuñez bested competitors from 30 schools from Singapore, Japan, Thailand, China, Denmark and Brunei, among others, in the olympiad’s open category for secondary schools.

The Philippine team enthralled the judges with its entry, a mini diner with robot customers served by robot waiter, receptionist and multi-functional robot serving kapeng barako or Batangas-grown brewed coffee, entertained by a robot musicians and secured by a "securitybot" or robot security guard.

The Filipino entry was inspired by Karel Capek’s play "Rossum’s Universal Robots," where the term "robotics" was first used.

Team coach Merlin Placino said they deliberately added a native touch to the entry, which they had also vetted in the Philippine Robotics Olympiad.

Having won the Philippine Robotics Olympiad, the FAITH high school team was given the opportunity to travel to Nanjing for the international leg of the competition. "We wanted to use this opportunity to promote the country and our native coffee," Placino said.

The contest in Nanjing marks the third year of the competition, which began in Singapore in 2004 and was held in Bangkok, Thailand last year.

The contest gathers students from all over the world in a friendly robotics competition that aims to help young "robotians" develop their skills in creative thinking and problem solving.

The FAITH team is the undefeated champion in the Philippines’ robotics olympiad, which is organized by Felta Multi-media and the Department of Science and Technology.

FAITH has integrated robotics in its fifth grade and third year high school curricula. The school is committed to its vision of seamless integration of science, technology and the humanities in its curricula.