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A multicultural bee of teenagers aged 14-18 from 193 countries, from every corner of the world, are meeting these days in Athens, at the global robotics competition “FIRST Global Challenge”. A common point of reference for all the participants in the competition is their interest in robotics, but also their willingness to work with each other to find solutions to important problems facing the planet.
The “FIRST Global Challenge” competition is organized every year in a different country, following the standards of the Olympic Gamesfrom the American non-profit organization “FIRST Global”, founded by entrepreneur and inventor, Dean Kamen to promote technology and innovation around the world. This year, it is Athens’ turn to host a competition and national missions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Governance.
All his spaces Stadium of Peace and Friendshipin Piraeus, were suitably configured to accommodate the national teams of the participants and the different challenges of the competition. All the points of SEF got names inspired by Greek antiquity. The teams’ pavilions were set up in the “Agora”, the competition hall was named “Stadium”, the signs with the map of the area were titled “Labyrinth”. There’s even the “Volcano Lab”: a… Robot Hospital, set up in the testing room. The contestants have already assembled their robots before coming to Athens, based on the same kit of parts that everyone has received, but when doing the final tests they often find that something is wrong. In the Robot Hospital they find technical support for repairing and programming robots, request spare parts and tools or charge batteries.
Janet from Malawi participated as a student in the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge and now supports the competition as one of the hundreds of volunteers from all over the world who have come to Greece for the event. It is dedicated to helping participants solve problems they face with their robots. He describes to APE-MPE that students come to the Robot Hospital stressed about how to solve the problems that arise. “We try to keep them calm so they can compete. Even if there is a serious problem, we find alternatives, so we show them that there are no unsolvable problems. Our motto is that no group should be left behind,” he says.
Testing of the robots took center stage on Thursday, the first day of the event and before the opening ceremony, to see if the structures were up to the challenges ahead. Also, one of the most interesting actions of the first day of the competition was the “New Technology Experience”. The teams had to come up with an innovative solution that would answer an important problem in their area and improve access to environmentally friendly food sources. The best ideas were presented as part of the competition. Among other things, the Irish team looked for solutions to farmers’ demand to maximize their production, using electricity while reducing chemical fertilizers. Concerned about the decline in algae production due to rising sea temperatures, the South Korean team presented an underwater vehicle with built-in sensors and cameras to measure sea temperature levels and salinity.
This friction of students with important problems facing the planet is a main objective of the “FIRST Global Challenge”. With a central theme of “Feeding the Future”, the competition focuses on encouraging participants to think creatively about building a sustainable food future for all. During the competition, which started yesterday and runs until tomorrow, teams will have to operate their robot in a simulated world that highlights the complex and interdependent relationship between water, food and energy systems.
An important parameter in the entire competition process is the cooperation between national teams in order for their robots to respond to the challenges that will be put to them and to earn points. The winners of the contest will be announced tomorrow, Sunday during the closing ceremony, and individual national teams can only win medals for specific performance categories, such as the most innovative design or team that worked best together.
As the associate dean of Yale University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vince Wilczynski, who is at the competition site as co-chairman of the FIRST Foundation’s Executive Advisory Committee, characteristically told APE-MPE, “it’s not a competition, it’s a collaboration.” Mr. Wilczynski declares that he is excited that this year’s event is being hosted in Athens. “The people of Attica have within them the spirit of ancient Athens that mobilized the crowds in important events and transmitted wisdom and knowledge. We are trying to inspire young people, just like ancient Athens.”
The ambition of the competition is for the participating young people to become a kind of robotics ambassadors for their home countries by passing on the knowledge they have acquired to other students in their countries. 16-year-old Selom has taken over as the Ethiopian team’s communications manager for the needs of the competition. It is her first participation in the competition and she feels that she has learned a lot and gained confidence. He envisions becoming a software engineer in the future. She describes that in her country there are few opportunities for children to learn robotics and, as she tells APE-MPE, the message she wants to send to her compatriots when she returns is that “if you work hard and dream, you can achieve anything. The sky is the limit.”
At the core of the competition is, however, first and foremost getting to know different people and their cultures from all continents. In the “Agora”, where the kiosks of the national teams are set up, the multicultural element dominates and despite the excitement of the competition, the atmosphere is festive. Each team made sure to decorate its pavilion with typical items from the country it represents. Sweets, traditional costumes, photos, jewelry, give an image of their culture.
The Tunisian team didn’t just bring signature confections for the other participants to try. She created her own song called “Ta leme in Greece”, which they wanted to teach the other participants during the breaks to sing along. “The song describes how the contestants discover the world and different cultures through this competition. Our goal is to unite all the groups with the help of the song,” 18-year-old Noor, head of the group, tells APE-MPE. She says she is impressed by how students from all over the world can be united in one place and how they meet through the competition “robotics, culture, excitement and passion”.
