Thai youth shine at Robot Olympiad

The group returned to Thailand on Tuesday night at 11.10pm.
The Thai youth managed to win a clutch of top prizes in the contest, which was attended by 413 teams from 30 countries. The “Lang Kao” team from Chaiyaphum Pakdichumpol School and the “Aladdin” team from Chiang Mai University each won a gold medal, while the Saint Gabriel’s College team’s football-playing robots won a silver and a bronze. The “Lang Khao” team also won two honourable mentions, while Bangkok’s Yothinburana School and Thainiyomsongkroa School each won an honourable mention.
Office of the Basic Education Commission chief Chinnapat Bhumirat said his office joined forces with the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) and Gammaco (Thailand) Co Ltd to select 30 primary and upper-secondary student teams for WRO 2012.
The students competed in the autonomous robot category – in which each team had to create a program to control robots to perform a field mission – the autonomous robot category under the theme “human-robot communication”; and in the football-playing robot category. Each category was further divided into three age groups: under-12, under-15 and under-18. This was the first year a university-level contest was organised, allowing Chiang Mai University students to join in, Chinnapat said.
“Lang Kao” team member Patcharatun Suttichat said she first became interested in robotics competitions two years ago, finding them challenging and fun, while also helping her concentrate on tasks and boosting her self-confidence. She was happy to win the gold medal, as last year her team won a bronze in the same category. She said the secret to success was to practice, learn from one’s mistakes and be disciplined.
Congratulating the students on their success, Chinnapat also thanked the many agencies that helped the Thai youth to shine on the international stage, especially Thai Airways with transport assistance, IPST and Gammaco.