Booting up to compete

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Robotics Association of Nepal (RAN), in association with educationsansar.com, is organising its first Robotics comp-etition titled ‘Yantra 1.0’ on July 20 and 21. The competition, which has the theme of ‘Mission Nepal’, will be held inside the Dashrath Stadium at Tripureshwor. It will be divided into two categories — ‘Yantra College’ and ‘Yantra Engineering’. Through this event, the association aims to involve maximum tech buffs in the latest

advancements in robotics technology, by focusing on knowledge sharing and hands-on experience through team spirit.

Sunoj Shrestha, president of RAN, said, “We believe that ‘Yantra 1.0’ will familiarise the general public, and especially Nepali students, with robotics and associated technologies. It will also enhance their knowledge, besides helping them explore their ideas and creativity.” According to him, altogether 59 teams, comprising of 200 students, are participating in the event — 39 of them from engineering colleges and 20 from ‘A’ levels. He added, “Such events provide a platform for enthusiasts to learn more about robots technologies by practically using the engineering skills picked up in classrooms.”

According to RAN, the competition reflects Nepal’s geographical diversity through its theme and game field. The arena is divided into three zones — terai, hills and mountains. Each team must build an autonomous robot that navigates the arena in minimum possible time by tracking white lines, following white walls, avoiding various obstacles and passing through critical paths. The teams will also be allowed three minutes to calibrate their machines on a test track before the real competition begins. They will get a chance to test their machines in the same lighting conditions at a smaller test track.

According to Shrestha, the event has three rounds — elimination, league and finals. The team that reaches the end of the game field within the least time will be the winner. Suresh Ghimire, vice president of RAN, further informed, “The top team from the engineering category will bag Rs 50,000, while the top college level team will win Rs 30,000. The competition also includes other titles and awards such as Best Design, Facebook Popularity, Best Speed, Best Automation and Best Performance.” Shrestha informed that they have only included students with a valid identity card and a recommendation letter of their respective educational institution, along with the registration fee of Rs 6,000. One of the participants at the event, Anil Karki from Advanced College

of Engineering and Management (ACEM), said, “RAN has provided us with an avenue to put our theoretical knowledge to use. This competition will not only enhance our designing and logical reasoning skills but also ease our entrance into the electronic field.” According to him, robotics event was only conducted by Pulchowk Campus earlier, but now RAN is holding it on a massive scale by including educational institutions from all over the country. Karki said, “Since past four months, my three team members and I have been participating in various workshops held by RAN. We are now building a robot for the competition, and expect expenses from our side to be approx-imately Rs 30,000. ACEM will contribute the rest of the amount.”

Amrit Kumar Pant, secretary of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), is also quite positive about the competition. He opined, “The event will help students discover their calibre and underline room for improvement.” According to him, the event will highlight the inventors and their institutions alike. This also coincides with RAN’s motto — to promote, educate, explore, and compete in the field of robotics and integrate principles from all disciplines of engineering.