From the Maldives to Mexico: students compete in international robotic Olympics

Three Maldivian students have travelled to Mexico to take part in a global robotics competition.

Their creation, Rani Kanbaa (queen lady), is remote-controlled and can carry and transport objects. It was built in two months with equipment provided by tournament organisers FIRST Global.

The robot was made by 15-year-old Yameen Ushau from Majeedhiyya School, 15-year-old Ridha Anees of Jamaaludhin School and 17-year-old Hassan Nasih from Center for Higher Secondary Education.

They come from Eydhafushi and are accompanied by Maldives National University lecturer Maumoona Abdulla.

“We started pretty late due to custom difficulties but our team has persevered,” they told the official event website. “Team Maldives’ plan isn’t just to make a robot, it is to make a champion robot.”

The event is aimed at students aged 14 to 18 and has been held since 2016. Around 175 countries are taking part this year.

The best robots for the final round are selected based on the skills they can perform during the initial rounds.

FIRST Global is a non-profit organization that promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and careers for youths.

The event ends on August 18.

Very happy to be a Mentor to the team Maldives for the @F1RSTglobal challenge 2018 robotics competition at Mexico. Thank you to @women_democracy for the opportunity. Thank you Akmal Ahmed for the immense support and special thanks to @waddey for the Twitter tag. #robotics pic.twitter.com/yPmvWUt0LQ

— iRFAN™ (@TheRealiRFAN) August 14, 2018

Photo: First Global