Bahraini robots all set for battle
Manama : After winning the VEX Bahrain Robotics Championship last month were robots controlled by students battled to stack cones in a 12x12 square field, four teams from the Creativity Private School are excited to represent Bahrain at the US Robotics World Championship in April.
Having consistently represented the country in the past seven years, Creativity Private School was also the first to represent the country at the Robotics World Championship in 2012.
“For the first three years, we were the only teams from Bahrain,” said Mahammed Azreen, event partner and teacher at Creativity Private School. Now annual robotics competition attracts students from schools across the kingdom.
Creativity Private School has its own Robotics Department, formed in 2015, built and managed by the students.
“Last September, we started working on the robots,” said 12th grader Ameena Duaij Albinjassim, also a coach at the CPS Robotics Department.
In 2013, Bahrain came the closest to winning the championship by qualifying for the semifinals but lost to Singapore. But the local kids won the hearts of not only the audience but also the judging committee as they received the sportsmanship trophy for cheering the winning team. “We took our drums, halwa showaiter, tea and we even applied henna at the venue,” said a beaming 12th grader Hessa Bugahoos.
Bahrain ranked 15th out of 190 teams from across the world then.
Now five years later, four teams from CPS are geared up for the win at the Robotics World Championship that will take place in three weeks.
Preparations are in full swing for all four teams. Teams Onyx and Ruby are the seniors. Teams Hany and Princess are the juniors.
Majority of the member from Onyx and Ruby have represented Bahrain at the Robotics World Championship in the past.
“We are sure of our robot because it is a good performer, it can balance all the tasks,” 14-year-old Abdulaziz Albenjasim, member of Onyx, said.
Onyx took a month to be built and perfected for the tasks that need to be completed in a time frame of one minute and 45 seconds.
“Our advantage was having a good driver (robot controller),” revealed 15-year-old Onyx member, Yousif Bassam.
“Any driver can be a good driver, but not any driver can be an expert,” said a confident Faisal Abol, the driver for Onyx explaining what makes a good robot controller. The team has only a minute and 45 seconds for the robot to complete stacking the cones. “Analyzing skills, time and strategy,” revealed his winning formula.
Meanwhile, Team Ruby had just discovered a solution to a major worry, overheating of their robot. “We managed to solve the issue by reducing the speed,” revealed 14-year-old Rashid Fahad, a team member.
“We are ready for the championship, I think it will awesome,” said 12-year-old Abdulla Isa, the youngest member of Ruby.
Members of the junior teams, Hany and Princess Robot are between the ages of 8 to 11. They are representing the country for the first time and are nothing short of excited about the opportunity. Ten-year-old Mohammed Shuaib of team Hany is not just concerned about his robot but also about himself, “I will make sure I get enough sleep,” he said with a serious smile when asked how he was preparing for the upcoming event.
Lamis Khamis Ibrahim, VEX IQ Robotics Coach at CPS, is proud of her trainees. They have been spending days on practising control. “A well-designed robot is nothing without proper control,” she said. “The children are extremely focused, it is wonderful to watch them,” she added.
“The teachers have been a great help,” said eight-year-old Lara Mohamed Saad, the youngest member of team Princess Robot. Nine-year-old Aysha Ibrahim Shaikh is excited to fly as she confidently displayed her robot.
“We are ready,” she said.
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