Competitors from Poland but also Turkey and Spain. 123 teams. On Saturday, 30th November, the 6th edition of Robotic Arena was held at Students Culture Zone.
The international competition of robots was organized by the KoNaR Scientific Circle. The rivalry started at 10:30 AM. The robots fought in such disciplines, as sumo, Micromouse, Freestyle and following a drawn line. “In most of the categories, the role of the robots is just to provide entertainment.” – explains Bartosz Wawrzacz from KoNaR Scientific Circle – “But while designing them, we gain experience that we would not get during studies.” – adds Kamil Rosiński from the Scientific Circle. The only category in which the robots demonstrate their practical usefulness is the Freestyle. Here, the invention and versatility of the machines is assessed. For instance, Balbinka is a social robot. It reacts to voice, it can speak (only in English, unfortunately), make faces, and dance. “Balbinka was developed as a companion for the Romek robot.” – explains Wawrzacz. – “Maybe in the nearest future we will also build Ptyś, another mate for him.”
Beta from Wierzchosławice near Tarnów was a competitor for Balbinka. She can talk to people, hand out brochures, and even carry a child in a stroller.
The sumo competition attracted the most attention. The robots competed in the categories: minisumo (size of the robots up to 10x10 cm, weight up to 500 g), microsumo (5x5 cm, 100 g), and femtosumo (robot base up to 1x1 cm). The last category saw a rivalry between Feleczek (designed by Daniel Dudzik from Wrocław University of Technology) and Stuart (Karol Kapera, also from Wrocław University of Technology). “When building my robot, I used sensors of the type found in mobile phones, as well as an engine utilized in Iphone 5.” – says Daniel Dudzik.
In the Micromouse competition, the robots had to get to the centre of a maze designed by the organizers. Those that managed to complete the task could compete in another category – reaching a defined target in the shortest possible time. “This difficult competition has been organized only for the second time in Poland.” – says Bartosz Wawrzacz – “Not all the robots make it to the center. But no-one loses here, all the designers learn how to improve the programming of their robots, and that’s the most important thing.”
The agenda also included a drawing competition for children visiting the event. There were plenty of willing participants, as the show at the Students Culture Zone was visited by whole families.
Maria Lewowska
Translation: Dariusz Więcławski
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