Belarus succeeds at WRO 2015

From November 5 to November 8, Doha, Qatar welcomed the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO) 2015. Belarus participated in the prestigious event for the second time. Last year, the Olympiad took place in Sochi, Russia, where Belarusian teams ranked in the middle of the top 100 list. This year, however, their performance has been a success.

The event brings together young people from all over the world to develop their creativity, design, and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions and activities. Every task is strictly regulated. LEGO kits and parts are used for the activities. The youngest participants use LEGO Education WeDo kits, which require a constant connection to the computer.

The WeDo kits are less functional than LEGO Education EV3, the main set for robot technicians. It includes a programmed microcomputer EV3. With the help of a special computer program it can be configured to perform autonomous actions.

This year, 22 Belarusian participants went to Qatar, including three teams for the main event and two for the creative competition. Belarusians were successful in the Regular Junior category (13 to 15 years). Their project titled RB_Volat was among the top entries, only losing to the teams from Mexico, Taiwan, and Russia. It is a great achievement for Belarus, as 88 countries participated in the event.

Unfortunately, in the Regular Elementary (10 to 12 years) and Regular Senior (up to 21 years) categories both Belarusian teams didn't reach the final stage of the competition.

Given the significant progress of Belarus compared to the last year, there is a reasonable chance of success in 2016.

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