This IPN student's robot is musically inclined.
Mexican students are making a name for themselves in the world of robotics, and one group has qualified to enter the International Robots Sumo Tournament in Japan in December.
Students of the National Polytechnical Institute (IPN) won a berth in the Japanese competition after picking up wins in the Robogames Zero Latitud in May in Ecuador. There, Adrián Sánchez Reyes competed with three androids against 22 robots from Perú, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico to place first and third.
Sánchez is a student in the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School of the IPN and a member of the Robotics Club. He said in an interview that club members are now preparing for the event in Japan by making adjustments to their creations by building faster prototypes, better controls and improved structure and design.
Last year the Mexican team placed fourth, facing off against robots with better motors, electronics and programming, developed by science and engineering experts. Rather than being intimidated by the competition, Sánchez said, the students are determined to demonstrate and put into practice what they’ve learned.
The club also did well in July at the Robocore Winter Challenge in Brazil, picking up first and fifth-place wins in two of the categories. And in March Mexico won a gold medal to place fourth in the medal count at RobotChallenge 2014 in Vienna, Austria.
The Mexican students won a first, a second and a third in three categories.
Sánchez said the Japan tournament will feature the best in the world. “And the best right now are Japan, Turkey, Mexico, Latvia and some guys from Brazil as well.”
There are various categories in robotics competitions. In a sumo tournament combatants try to force each other out of the ring, as in the traditional Japanese sport. Another type is Line Follower, in which the robot must follow a black line on a white background.
A variation is Line Follower Lego, for robots built of Lego bricks, and aimed at beginners.
Mexico’s robotic students benefit from a high level of competition in the field, encouraged by teachers and schools, and the private and public sectors. There are schools in Mexico that develop very good prototypes, said another IPN student, Fernando Delgado.
Stiff domestic competition provides a good testing ground in preparation for competing on the international stage.
The knowledge and technology utilized in building robots are applied in real life in the automation of transport systems and manufacturing processes among others.
No comments:
Post a Comment