Yerevan hosts 11th Armrobotics Championship

The 11^th annual Armrobotics Championship was held at the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex on Sunday, featuring 42 robots from all the regions of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic.

The event attracted secondary school students aged 11-18, most representing the all-Armenian educational network Armath. They designed and built the robots in two months, testing them in a hackathon held just two days before the championship.

“What makes this competition unique is that our participants use 3D printers and brace machines to make most of the details and connector bends. They did it all on their own, designing also the boards, writing the code in compliance with the competition standards, etc. We are extremely enthusiastic to see the younger generation propose their own solutions and create independently, developing the engineering thinking,” said Karen Vardanyan, the CEO of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE the organizer of the event).

Hayk Yesayan, a co-founder and the chief executive of Ucom (the general sponsor) highlighted especially the programs allowing participants to develop the engineering thinking. “We have repeatedly stated that all the projects dealing with engineering thinking, software and the development of robot-building skills are pivotal to the corporate social responsibility of Ucom. We closely follow that the young [participants] acquire not only professional knowledge and skills but also have the experience to demonstrate them, and see their own strengths and weaknesses, repair their shortcomings and become the newest generation of the big businesses of the future,” he added.  

Zhirayr Edilyan, the country program director of World Vision Armenia (sponsor), described the event as a unique platform enabling the young participants to demonstrate their abilities in the field of robot building and to increase and strengthen their confidence of their own knowledge and potential. “Self-confidence and enthusiasm are important especially for children residing in remote communities. It would help them to continue the learning process and fight for their own future and life,” he added.

The 42 participant teams submitted their work to the professional jury, as well as the public, for evaluation.

Students from the Gyumri-based engineering laboratory Armath were named the top winners this year. Their special prizes were mobile phones from the general sponsor.

The Armath team from the Sevan High School and the Artsakh IT Center won respectively the second and third places.

All the three top winners received monetary awards from the sponsors.

The students from the Sisian Basic School No 2 (Syunik region) received encouraging prizes.

The competitition of robots, capable of surmounting obstacles and exiting labyrinths, is aimed at increasing teenage students' interest in robot-building, automation and IoT creation processses and encouraging them to gain a closer knowledge of international technological trends (in addition to raising public awareness).  

The UATE has been conducting the project in Armenia since 2008.