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A total of eight teams took part in the final of the World Robotic Olympiad Andorra Telecom this morning. This year’s global theme was the sustainable use of energy resources applied to different areas such as the home and the car industry.

The competition, divided into four categories (WeDo, for children aged between 6 and 10, Star, for children aged between 7 and 12, Elementary, for children aged between 10 and 15, and Junior, for children aged between 16 and 18 years) was scheduled in two time slots. The Elementary and Junior categories competed from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and the Star and WeDo categories competed from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

The winning team in the WeDo category was AV Frankies from La Seu d’Urgell. This year’s challenge consisted of building a robot to fight forest fires and rescue people, taking them to safe areas. The robot has also had to plant new trees to replace the burnt ones.

The winning team in the Elementary category was the Com Tu team, made up of two youngsters from Andorra. The challenge consisted of modernising a house. The robot had to replace old light bulbs with new low-consumption ones and install solar panels on the roof, as well as smart home devices. These are improvements that will help to reduce the energy consumption of the home and make better use of renewable energy.

In the Star category the winning team was the AVJIP team made up of young people from La Seu d’Urgell. The challenge was the same as the one in the Elementary category but with simplified regulations, better suited to the introduction into robotics.

Finally, the winning team in the Junior category was 4M, made up of three youngsters from Andorra. This year’s challenge was linked to the car industry. The possibility of charging stationary electric cars was the proposed challenge. The robot had to pick up the cars at the entrance to a smart car park and take them to the right place, depending on the type of car. The robot then distributed batteries to charge hybrid and electric cars.

Inés Martí, Head of Events at Andorra Telecom, congratulated all the participants, stressing that “this year, the seventh, female participation has reached 40% among the Andorran teams, a percentage we’re delighted with and one we hope will stabilise or even increase

in future years.” According to Martí, these robotics competitions “encourage not only innovation and technology among students but also associated values such as creativity, teamwork and a culture of effort.” The organisation of the WRO forms part of Andorra Telecom’s commitment to all activities related to the promotion of robotics among young people.

The winners of the four categories will take part in the Spanish final of the WRO 2021 set to take place next October in the municipality of Salt (Girona).