How can a robot save heritage sites from natural calamities or environmental damage? About 150 students of classes IV to XII of various schools in the city came together at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum on Sunday to devise a solution for protecting heritage sites using robotic technology.

The winners of the Bangalore chapter will meet in New Delhi next month for the eighth edition of the Indian Robot Olympiad (IRO), one of the largest robotics competition in India. The final winner will represent the country in the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) to be held in Jakarta in November. The competition involves building and programming a robot to perform specific functions, which involve protecting heritage sites around the world.

Vikram Nitin from FIITJEE Integrated School and Rakshit Agarwal from NPS chose a project that required them to protect animals in Komodo National Park in Indonesia. They devised a strategy wherein tourists will be alerted and made to stop with the help of robotic sensors if there is an animal in the vicinity. “This will help prevent man-animal conflict,” says Vikram.

Source: DNA (text and pic)