The National Robotic Competition is back

Kathmandu

With the objective to integrate science, technology and art to create more interactive and immersive projects,

Robotics Association Nepal (RAN) is organising the fourth edition of the National Robotics Competition (NRC) — ‘Yantra 4.0 Art Science and Tech Festival 2015’ on December 3. The competition will be followed by a nine-day long exhibition scheduled to start from December 6.

“Yantra is not just about robotics but the collaboration of science, art and technology involved in making it,” said Dipesh Khanal, Secretary at RAN, adding that they are trying to employ all these in making robots so that it could be utilised.

He mentioned that the event is targeted at engineering students in order to break the monotony of the theoretical course that is prevalent in Nepal. “We are gradually going to school level students as well so that we can give them the basic knowledge of making robots which they can utilise later,” he said.

According to Khanal, the competition this year will follow the theme of adaptation and will focus mainly on ways to help victims of the earthquake. The competition is categorised under four different themes — Towards the Centre, Yantra Manual Akhada, Yantra Automatic Akhada and Yantra Racer.

Towards the Centre is a project aiming to take relief packages to the victims’ of the earthquake. Likewise in Yantra Manual Akhada and Yantra Automatic Akhada there will be competition between robots. “The interesting part in these two wrestling robotic competitions is that, there will be quake for certain period of time to give the feeling of earthquake to the fighting robots,” he mentioned.

The three events are open to all interested participants. However, in Yantra Racer participants under 18 years of age should make an automatic line following robot and compete in the lines representing the famous temples or heritage icons destroyed in the earthquake.

The registration process is open. Likewise various workshops required in the process are also being conducted. “As most participants already have the knowledge of making robots, special trainings won’t be necessary.

However, we will conduct it if required,” informed Khanal. At the end of the competition, the top three winners for each category will be declared on the basis of the point system.

The winners for the all four themes will receive Rs 300,000 each. Following the competition will be the fest where 12 winning robots from the robotics competition and five best designs from the other three events will be exhibited.

According to Khanal, the event is looking forward to having 55 plus robots participating in the robotics competition along with 250 plus participants in the design challenge. Likewise more than 10,000 visitors are expected at the exhibition.

RAN is looking after the entire event of NRC, whereas Karkhana Private Limited and Siddhartha Art Foundation are also involved as the co-organisers in the Yantra 4.0.