Gold, silver and bronze medals keep coming.
The Croatian Society for Robotics always returns from international competitions with at least some gold, silver and bronze medals. For young people involved in the projects, as well as for their mentors, they represent a motive for further work and the acquisition of new knowledge, reports Poslovni.hr on November 10, 2017.
The Croatian Society for Robotics is just one of the associations of the Croatian Robotics Association. The society was established with a view to develop and promote the extra-curricular education of young people, in order to increase their knowledge and skills.
Through the work, the goal is to provide the children and young people with basic and advanced practical knowledge in the field of construction, electronics and robotics. Robotics as a field of scientific culture in Croatia has been developing for years thanks to enthusiasts who spend weekends and holidays working with children.
Professor Ivica Kolarić was among those who in 2011 realised there was a need to compare the knowledge and skills of Croatian students with other countries. He sent an application for Croatian students to take part in an international competition in Austria, then in the RoboCup Junior World Competition in Istanbul, which marked the beginning of their successful and global robotics adventure, which later lead them to Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Australia, Germany, Japan, and many other countries.
Changing rules encourage competitors to make new, better and more efficient constructions year after year. Every new construction demands a new and better computer program, which helps students think logically.
In 2017, they participated with several teams at international competitions in Austria, Sweden, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and at the World RoboCup Junior Competition in Nagoya, Japan.
All this could not have been accomplished without the support of parents and donors with whom they are already planning further events, such as RoboCup Junior Zagreb Open which will be held on 18 and 19 November, and which will determine which teams will travel to a world competition in Montreal in June 2018.
“I believe they would progress even faster and better if they had more financial resources to buy robotic materials and cover other costs. In that way, they would feel that society appreciates their hard work. Our goal is to spread the advanced robotics all over Croatia and to make these young people promoters of Croatia in the world. We are currently working with beginners and with older students, whom we train in 10 different categories so that each student can progress individually. Older students are encouraged to work with younger ones and thus transfer part of their knowledge,” said Jelka Hrnjić, a mentor of young robot developers.
Translated from Poslovni.hr.
