India hosts World Robot Olympiad for the first time

India hosted the 13th edition of the World Robot Olympiad on the sidelines of trade fair in New Delhi. This is for first time India hosted World Robot Olympiad.
It has been organised by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the India STEM Foundation (ISF).
Key Facts

• The three-day international championship aims to find innovative solutions using robotics technology to reduce, manage and recycle waste.
• The theme of the event is ‘Rap the Scrap’ selected in line with Union Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. It will see participation of over 2000 students from 54 countries.
• Students in age group of 9 to 25 years will participate in four categories regular category (Elementary, Junior High, Senior High), open category, WRO football and advanced robotics challenge.

About World Robot Olympiad

It is a global robotics competition that seeks to bring together young minds from across the world to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robotics competition. It was formally established in 2003 and was for the first time held in 2004 in Singapore. Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea are considered the founding countries of the competition.
Note: The 12th edition of World Robot Olympiad was held in Doha, Qatar in November 2015. The theme was ‘Robot Explorers’. The 2017 World Robot Olympiad will be held in Costa Rica.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2016