Doha: The State of Qatar is set to participate in the 16th Arab Robotics and AI Championship, scheduled to take place in Tunisia during April 10-14.
Several students, supervisors, and adjudicators from the Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), represented by the Information Technology Department of the Educational Guidance Department will be dispatched to this event.
The participation intends to develop the spirit of innovation and collective work among children and young people and encourage them to pursue studies in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Held under the motto: Robots bring together the Arab future in green Tunisia, under the shade of olive trees, a symbol of peace and innovation, the event spotlights the importance of connecting the glorified Arab history with the present that abounds with opportunities.
In a statement, QSC highlighted that this motto shines a spotlight on the role of youth in building a brighter future amid the rapid evolution of revolutionary technology that necessitates keeping up with these changes and capitalizing on this technology to enhance education and knowledge for the future generation. It added that through this tournament, it seeks to encourage the resurgence of novel ideas and innovations that empower youth and contribute to achieving sustainable development.
In addition, this participation comes after teams of many public and private schools have been meticulously selected based on their excellence in the domestic school robotics championship.
Muath bin Jabal Primary School for Boys is participating in the line following as beginner category, Omar Bin Al-Khattab Secondary School for Boys in the line following as advanced category, Qatar Technical Secondary School for Girls in the robot arm category, and Qatar Science and Technology Secondary School for Boys in the sumo as advanced category.
Al Wakra Secondary School for Boys is competing in the ball collecting as beginner category, Khalifa Secondary School for Boys in the sumo as beginner category, and Rufaidah bint Kaab Preparatory School for Girls in the line following as beginner category.
Moreover, Ibn Sina Secondary School for Boys is participating in the ball collecting as advanced category, Qatar Technical Secondary School for Boys in the sumo as beginner category, alongside English Modern School, which is competing in the innovation category.
As part of its commitment to achieving the best results, QSC held two workshops for the Qatari teams that primarily focused on technical and tactical aspects in various contests ahead of this participation.
Additionally, QSC has allocated a special prize for winners of the robot arm category to spur competitors in this Arab debut edition, whose criteria and conditions have been set based on the domestic tournament and garnered significant participation from the member states since its inclusion among the Arab championship categories, alongside concurrent workshops on robotics and AI.
Member of the Administrative Board, Qatar's representative in the Arab Robotics and AI Association, and member of the tournament's supreme organizing committee in Tunisia, Fatima Al Mohannadi, highlighted that Qatar has been actively taking part in all Arab robotics championships, emphasizing that this year's version is literally special as it includes the robot arm in the competitions for the first time.
The inclusion of this contest came in accordance with a proposal submitted by QSC that was officially approved by the association and announced during the closing ceremony of the Schools Robotics Championship held in Doha last February, Al Mohannadi highlighted.
She explained that the robot arm contest intends to design and program an autonomous robot capable of lifting and transporting objects of varying weights to construct a specified geometric formation on a specially designed track in the shortest possible time, comprising two stages. The first involves arranging the dockside area, while the second entails loading ships with appropriate cargo.
By and large, notably, the championship is a renowned student competition in robotics across the Arab region, providing an innovative scientific and technological platform dedicated to designing, constructing, and programming educational robots.
This edition anticipates approximately 300 teams from a wide diversity of age groups across the Arab world, with over 1000 students participating.
