Dadlibots Return With Valuable Lessons From 2024 Robotics Olympics

RELEASE:

Team Antigua and Barbuda (DadliBots) has returned home from the recently concluded 2024 FIRST Global Challenge (FGC) held in Athens, Greece; bringing back a wealth of insights and practical experiences despite winning only three (3) of their twelve (12) qualification alliance matches; falling from their highest team ranking of #105 down to #175 out of 180+ countries that participated.

The annual olympics-style, international robotics competition invites nations from around the world to send a team of high school students to build and program a robot that mustcollaboratively compete in a game themed around the greatest challenges facing our planet today; with this year being focusedon sustainable food production and titled: “Feeding the Future”

Recap Competition (YouTube @F1RSTglobal) –https://youtu.be/a7fCBXZ5ZWQ?si=YZpTIjaQL3Y_77-2

Despite their performance, the five students (Lemario – Leader, Brielle – Driver, Reanna – Coder, Tiksna Inventory and Xion – Engineer) who represented the nation said they were happy for the opportunity to showcase their creative design and programming skills, in spite of the stiff competition they faced with their robot named “ZEUS” – learning firsthand the importance of planning, adaptability and teamwork. 

“Meeting with persons within your alliance before the match, so you can know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it is very important” said Lemario, “Getting along with your team mates as well as persons from the other teams is also important for getting through the competition”Mentors Mr. Elijah James and Ms. Andie Stephen of the DadliBots Esports program which has been providing free STEM education to local youth since 2018 and is currently based at the American Corner Antigua located on the 2nd floor of the National Public Library; both acknowledged that there were a number of challenges facing the 2024 team before and throughout the event including: team dynamics, wiring and connectivity issues whichintermittently disabled the robot, the robot falling over even losing its wheel on the field and not having other countries show up to compete in scheduled alliance matches. This is in contrast to the previous team which had peaked at #24 while competingin FGC Singapore 2023.

“The students were very proud to promote their country as they participated in a number of activities, networked and made bunch of new friends” said mentor Elijah, “They pledged their commitment to not only promoting Robotics is a Sport when they returned home but also joined the thousands of other young people who signed The FIRST Global Declaration of Interdependence and Bill of Responsibilities which represents the foundational credo of FIRST Global: as a community dedicated to the cooperative pursuit of a more peaceful world, achieved by innovating together to ensure the life, liberty, success, advancement, and happiness of all who share our planet.”

Recap Team Antigua and Barbuda Matches –https://www.youtube.com/@DadliBots

Join the Robotic is a Sport Movement –https://first.global/sport

Read the Students’ Pledge: https://first.global/documents/

The Winning Alliance went to national teams – People’s Republic of China, Moldova, Madagascar and the Cook Islands; with the event’s top prestigious Albert Einstein Award for FIRSTGlobal International Excellence went to Mexico (Gold), Kazakhstan (Silver) and People’s Republic of China (Bronze)

Recap Team Rankings and Awards – https://results.first.global

The Caribbean countries that participated also came together at the event to celebrate each other in solidarity and to discuss plans that are already in motion for the hosting of an inaugural regional robotics competition in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). This has been a result of the recent formation the OECS Robotics Association by founder Dr. Ricardo R. Neil with plans to have the chairmanship being rotated amongst each member country.

Learn more – https://oecsrobotics.org

Students that are interested in learning more about the DadliBots Esports Program can follow via the social media channels: @dadlibots or register for free at https://antiguabarbudarobotics.org  

Individuals, Businesses and Organizations that are interested in supporting the work of DadliBots and its efforts in developing the potential of as many youth as possible across Antigua and Barbuda can do so by sending an email to: [email protected]To learn more about the 2024 FIRST Global Challenge Website: www.first.globalSocial media channel: @F1RSTglobalHashTags: #FGC2024Athens, #FGC2024, #FGC2024Greece

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua! We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.Contact us at [email protected]