WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD™ ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Premium Partners The amazing adventures of WRO 2019 World Robot Olympiad™ has a mission: to cultivate a love for science, technology, engineering and math – using robotics as a fun and challenging way to get there. Taking part in WRO® can be life-changing. Former participants go on to become engineers, designers, programmers, and scientists, so there is a good chance that the inventors and builders of tomorrow discovered their love for STEM in a WRO competition. If you are new to World Robot Olympiad, the 2019 annual report will show you why our work is important. If you are already a part of WRO, sit back and enjoy some of the highlights from the past year. From ME & MY ROBOT to a new, low-cost virtual introduction to robotics. And the biggest of them all: the international final in Hungary, a blast of an event with government support, more than 3,000 visitors, and 400 teams from 70 countries. We also unveil a bit of what’s to come in 2020, including three invitationals. We look forward to seeing you out there at the game tables and open category booths! 2 Contents 4 A truly global competition 5 WRO statistics 2019 6 The categories and how the competition works 7 #WRO2019 in Hungary 8 Meet four teams 10 Coaches see the kids’ potential 11 A judge is like a mentor 12 Message from the organizing Committee, WRO2019 13 2019 and onwards 14 Successful Friendship Invitational held in Denmark 14 China, Italy and the US all to host friendship tournaments in 2020 15 After pilot: Virtual WRO ready to fly 16 WRO Panama gains government support 17 A unique 2020 location 18 Making first time participants feel at ease 18 Germany won bid to host in 2021 19 How we are organized 20 Premium Partner: Juniper Networks 21 Premium Partner: LEGO Education 22 Make a positive mark on the world 23 Academic partner: WRO students are a great fit 3 A truly global competition Since the beginning 15 years ago WRO has connected more great deal these past years: 859% since 2015 – which in team 10% growth rate continues, there will be around 32,000 than 650,000 kids worldwide, allowing participants from numbers means an increase from 44 teams in 2015 to 844 in participants next year. Claus Ditlev Christensen, General countries such as Syria, Tajikistan, Palestine and Myanmar, 2019. Another national organizer which has had a significant Secretary, World Robot Olympic, says: from townships in South Africa, small islands and big cities, to increase in team numbers is Brazil. They started out in 2014 compete as equals on an international stage. and have progressed from just 11 teams in 2015 to 354 teams “As an organization with a mission to reach as many young in 2019 – a staggering 3,118%! people as possible, this is an exciting opportunity – but World Robot Olympiad has been around since 2004, and a we remain vigilant about the challenges strong growth lot has happened in the past 15 years. When we started out, More than 80 countries in 2020 represents. We want to ensure that all countries receive Asia was the biggest player, with 10 countries. Since then, the WRO’s mission is to get as many young people as possible attention and support, while introducing an increasing number of participating countries has grown to 75, making to take an interest in STEAM, so increased reach is important number of participants to the world of STEAM.” World Robot Olympiad a truly global robotics competition. to the organization. There is sustainable growth across all continents and new countries joining. In 2020, WRO You can find website and contact information for all our Vietnam is one of the national organizers which has grown a expects to have teams in more than 80 countries, and if the member countries on our website. 4 WRO statistics 2019 10% 650,000+ 29,000 75 Number of Number of children who have Overall growth in WRO member Number of teams in participated since teams worldwide countries 2019 2004 5 The categories The four competition categories: • REGULAR - a challenge-based competition and how the in which students have to design, construct and program their robots to solve specific challenges on competition works a field. Points are awarded for completed tasks. From small teams to cross-cultural all over the world, from Costa Rica to China. • OPEN friendships, we believe our approach World Robot Olympiad provides plenty - a project-based competition in to teaching robotics through of opportunities for cultural exchange which students create their own competitions has the most impact. at friendship tournaments and at the intelligent robotics solution related international final. New friends across to the theme of the season. Teams WRO competitions are open to students borders often stay in touch after competitions present their project and robot aged 6-19 years. Teams are made up of 2-3 to share ideas and feedback. model to a group of judges on the members and work together to solve exciting competition day. challenges. Fun facilitates learning They were very While playing games and making friends, our • WRO FOOTBALL The four WRO categories: participants learn invaluable skills. Robotics friendly, and we - a fun game with two teams of • Regular uniquely brings together physics, math, communicated autonomous robots playing football • Open engineering, coding, electronics, project (soccer). Every year small changes • WRO Football management, teamwork, and problem through Google are introduced to motivate the • Advanced Robotics Challenge solving in a dynamic, fun activity. Making students to keep developing their it fun and practical facilitates learning, Translate. We are still robots. Each season the challenges and theme for encourages innovation, and gives kids a in touch, developing the Regular and Open category are created sense of their ability to make a difference. • ADVANCED ROBOTICS with the host country of the international algorithms together. CHALLENGE final. Rules for other events are set by WRO’s - games designed to push older team of expert advisors and find a balance They even built an and more experienced students’ Did you know between challenging the participants and engineering and programming – that participants spend roughly algorithm based on ours, keeping things open, interesting and fun. skills to the limit. We expect to test 65 hours coding before a which is extra cool.” a new concept – Future Engineers – regional event? For national and New friends across borders in the 2020 season. WRO participants compete at the local and international events, it amounts to Adib, former participant from Syria/ many more hours (German study). national level for the right to compete in the Germany, about meeting a team from Read more on our website. international final. Past finals have been held another country. 6 Find #WRO2019 results on the website Meet some of our teams, read about the amazing work of two #WRO2019 in Hungary WRO coaches, and get a peek inside the minds of three judges. 7 Meet four teams Sama, Retag og Omar, a very talkative In Egypt, these students usually don’t get We asked the team two more questions: Sama, Egyptian team, competed in their first access to universities. But the national international final. Despite being only 11 organizer of WRO competitions has procured What have you looked most forward to and 12 years old, all of them dream about scholarships for hearing-impaired winners, about coming here? Retag becoming mentors for a new generation of giving students like Sama, Retag and Omar We want to make the community aware of us, kids – and of getting a technical education. access to higher education. so that we deaf kids are viewed the same as hearing kids. & Omar The three kids are all hearing-impaired. We The picture above shows the three of them asked them what they liked best about the on stage in Györ, receiving the LEGO What is the best thing about robotics? event, and they replied: “That we are among Creativity Award. We learn to design and program robots, hearing people. We want to live among the which gives us the ability to complete studies hearing.” in college. 8 Sofia, Yassine and Youssef from Morocco competed in Regular Elementary. They started doing robotics in 2014 and became national champions this year. They dream of having Elon Musk as their sponsor. Sofia answered a few questions during the final: What is it like, your first WRO final? Different. Incredible (eyes big, hands thrown up in the air). This is much bigger than the national competition with much more people. Mart & Sofia, Youssef What do you want to do in the future? I want to create machines that will make the world a better place. But first I want to win the international Claudia & Yassine final. And then create new LEGO robotics. Mart and Claudia from the Netherlands competed in Regular Junior in Hungary. Mart has competed in robotic games since primary school, but Claudia had hardly heard of robotics before – they’ve only been a team since January 2019. What is it like being new at this? Claudia: It’s different than I expected. Jesse Born, Elias Frey and Benjamin What is your project? The challenge turned out to be less Koch created Team Circuit Breakers A cleaning solution for a big house, a difficult than I thought it would be. just three months before the final, factory or school. The whole goal is and decided to take on the challenge to make cleaning cheaper and more What is the best thing about of Open. They are Switzerland’s very sustainable.