CEBU, Philippines – Six elementary students from Cebu are currently representing the country in the World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) in Doha, Qatar.
The robotics competition started since November 5 and will last until tomorrow, November 9.
Contenders from Cebu are represented by ‘Team A’ members Andre Perez, Trisha Nicole Alejandrino and John Lechter Alerta and ‘Team B’ members Prinze Charsev Camaongay, Jose Mario Nudalo, and Zowee Mhey Aquino, all in grade four.
Five of the students are from SmartKidz Enhancement Center in Danao City.
The Team A won third place during the 14th Philippines Robotics Olympiad held at the North SM Edsa last September 11, while Team B got the fifth place.
Around 65 schools in the country joined the annual competition initiated by the Department of Education and Felta-Multimedia Center.
The objective of the program is to stimulate interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines through promotion of robotics competitions.
As a WRO qualification, the participating students designed a robot that can investigate and explore different hostile environment.
For their category, the challenge was to build a robot that can dive and explore under the sea for pearls.
The robots are programmed and equipped with the appropriate sensors to collect the pearls.
The students were given 150 minutes to build and program their robots and after the two required test runs, the team scored 100 points in 27 seconds, besting 65 other participants in the category.
Coach Galatico “RD” Camaongay believed that the support of the parents and the school and good team work with the right mental attitude have made them win the third and fifth place in the national competition. —/NSA (FREEMAN)