JEPVĢ robotics club members represent Latvia at a robotics competition in Bucharest, Romania
From 1 to 3 November 2024, the 15th international robotics competition “RoboChallenge 2024” took place in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. This year’s competition in Romania was attended by 1154 participants from 25 countries with 964 robots.
Taking into account participation in the Latvian Robotics Championship in the 2023/2024 school year, our team’s representatives – JEPVĢ grade 9.B pupil Jānis Bērzinieks and teacher Juris Erts – were invited to represent the Latvian team in Bucharest together with other robotics enthusiasts. Participation in this competition was made possible above all thanks to the robotics patron and supporter Vitolds Bīriņš (representing the association “Mans robots”). In total, 11 participants represented Latvia at this competition. The RoboChallenge competition is held in electronics events only.
One of the founders of the PRK, Armands Upenieks, also travelled to Bucharest as part of the Latvian team and competed in the Mega Sumo (3 kg) event.
Jānis Bērzinieks competed in the Mini Sumo event and took 2nd place in the group fights, but 1st place was needed to continue. Despite the place he achieved, Jānis gained a great deal of experience:
Jānis: “There was a lot of preparation before the competition, which drew on my previous experience and knowledge. When I flew to Romania, I was welcomed by pleasant and friendly people – in the shops, in the museums and at the competition. At the competition I could see a high level of professionalism, which stood out especially in the Turkish robots and their contribution in the field of robotics, making me realise how much further there is to go to achieve outstanding results. A new discovery was how opponents find ways to fool a robot’s sensors using a very simple solution – shiny, black paper. I believe that nothing is impossible at a competition, because with this experience it seems that I have seen and felt almost everything, having been a spectator, a team-mate and a participant.”
Words of appreciation must be said to our Romanian colleagues for the excellent organisation of the competition and for their hospitality. As competition organisers in Latvia, we had a lot to learn from our Romanian friends.
Thank you to all the members of the Latvian team and the supporters for the opportunity to take part in this celebration of robotics!
Juris Erts, work organiser of the PRK