Gen-Xs passion for robotics

Going by the number of participants and the feats that are orchestrated by their robots, one could perhaps glean that robotics is the passion of our nation’s Gen-X.

The sci-fi thrillers Enthiran and Ra One came alive, albeit without the drama, at the preliminary round of the seventh Indian Robotics Olympiad (IRO) at the Velammal International School here on Sunday. As many as 34 participants in three categories — elementary, junior high and senior high — were in a state of focus, modeling their robots and making it perform feats such as crossing obstacles picking up objects.

Mohan Nimbalkar, one of the organisers, said that the Olympiad has been formulated on the lines of those of international olympiads. He said that the participants were required to not only model their robots, based on LEGO education kits, but also programme it to perform certain tasks — the programming language in question being NXT software as complex programming languages such as C and Java may be too complex for small children. “The olympiad is conducted as strict as an examination, and the participants are not allowed to bring in cellphones,” he added. Participants who had modelled their robots, meanwhile, were seen at a demonstration table expressing dismay or exultation depending on whether their creations were able to perform the stipulated tasks.

Speaking to Express, Christopher Dhas, senior consultant at K-12 solutions, said that the participants were informed of their objectives two months in advance. “Their tasks encompasses implementation of principles of design, structural engineering and sensors, which even many engineering graduates may have no idea of. By forming teams and breaking down their tasks into modules, the teams get a first-hand knowledge at team-work, inter-personal skills and interactions.” He strikes a parallel between their tasks and the atmosphere in a typical IT organisation. On whether the quality of Indian robotic enthusiasts is comparable to global standards, he says that there exists a wide gulf. “Our education system focuses on the role-model of learning and hardly lays emphasis on understanding and practical application he said.