RoboKnights, the Robotics Club of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram organised RoboKnights’14, the third edition of the inter-school Robotics Symposium on 13th December 2014. More than two hundred and fifty students from twenty-six schools from the Delhi-NCR region participated in this event, which offers a common platform for enthusiastic school students to showcase their technical skills.
The Chief Guest on the occasion was the Director of Futuristic Technology Management at DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), Mr. Manik Mukherjee. Also present were the Associate Director of Planning and Coordination at DRDO HQr, Mr. Rajeev Gupta; the System Manager of Mechanical Systems in the Robotics Group (Scientist-E) at R&DE(Engrs), Dighi Pune (a DRDO laboratory) , Mr. M.K. Pathak; Scientist-‘G’, Solid State Physics Laboratary (DRDO), Lucknow Road,Timarpur, Mr. Sushil Kumar; the Deputy Manager/Strategic Business, RailTel Corporation of India LImited (Ministry of Railways ),Mr. Alok Ranjan; the judges of RoboKnights’14, alumni of DPS R.K. Puram, Mr.Gaurav Maken, Mr. Rishabh Mittal, and Mr.Nipun Mitra; the Principal of DPS R.K. Puram, Dr. D.R. Saini; the Head of the Computer Science Department, Mr. Mukesh Kumar and the Robotics Teacher and Coordinator of the event, Mr. Ajithkumar K.G.
The inaugural ceremony commenced with the ROBOKNIGHTS lighting of the lamp and felicitation of the guests. The Principal, Dr. D.R. Saini addressed the gathering and warmly welcomed all the participating schools. The Chief Guest, Mr. Manik Mukherjee gave a speech on the importance of futuristic thinking among today’s youth, followed by a presentation showcasing the DRDO’s focus on assisting the Indian Armed Forces through cutting-edge technology. Mr. M.K. Pathak spoke on the challenges and successes of various types of robots designed, developed and inducted into defence by DRDO. This was followed by Mr. Alok from RailTel, who talked about the initiatives taken by Railtel to empower ‘Digital India’.
The main programme consisted of four competitive events, including ‘Robowars’, ‘Boat Racing’, ‘Football’ and ‘Line Follower’. In ‘Robowars’ which took place in the Junior Basketball Court, robots designed by various participating teams fought and attempted to damage each other. ‘Football’, which took place in the skating rink, was a competition designed as a modified version of a football match. Instead of humans, robots played the game where two machines tried to score the maximum goals for themselves. In ‘Boat Racing’, wirelessly controlled boats competed for the fastest position in the school swimming pool. The concept of this event was inspired by the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, which is held annually in the backwaters of Kerala. Finally, in ‘Line Follower’ which took place near the Main Gate of the Swimming Pool, computer-controlled robots traced a path drawn in a specially designed play field.
During the prize distribution ceremony, Ahlcon Public School was declared the overall winner followed by Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj and Modern School, Barakhamba Road in second and third place respectively. Ahlcon Public School got the first position in ‘Robowars’, followed by Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj and Mayoor School in second and third placerespectively. Best Design for ‘Robowars’ was given to Ramjas School, R.K. Puram. Mount Carmel School won the first prize in ‘Football’, while Apeejay School, Pitampura came second and Delhi Public School, Noida came third. Apeejay School, Pitampura was awarded the Best Design for ‘Football’. ‘Boat Racing’ was won by one of the two teams from Army Public School, Dhaulakuan. Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj won the second place and second team from Army Public School, Dhaulakuan got the third position. Modern School, Barakhamba Road got the Best Design award in boat racing. Lastly, ‘Line Follower’ was won by Modern School ,Barakhamba Road, followed by Apeejay School, Pitampura and Ahlcon Public School in second and third place.
It was an enriching and memorable experience for all students who truly lived up to the RoboKnights motto of ‘Curiosity is the key to creativity’.
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