Australian students crowned world's best robot builders

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A group of Australian students have been crowned the world's best robot builders at a competition in the United States.

More than 1,000 secondary school students from 157 countries and regions competed in the inaugural First Global Challenge in Washington, D.C. with a group of 17-year-old students from Trinity College in Adelaide emerged victorious.

Teams taking part in the competition had a school term, usually 12 weeks, to build a robot from scratch using parts supplied to them in a special kit.

The team of Australian students won the FIRST Global Challenge. /ABC News Photo

The competition featured that contestants had to figure out a practical problem with their technology.

The robots were required to navigate a fake river, and pick up blue or red balls representing clean water particles and contaminants which had to be removed to make the water safe for drinking.

Luke Voigt, captain of the Trinity College team, said the experience had left him speechless.

"It just felt like, I don't know it's hard to explain, it was definitely a huge honor," Voigt told Australian media on Monday.

"In other competitions you're allowed to use rubber bands for example but in this one you're not allowed to use anything – even drawing in markers on the robot you're not allowed to do.

"Our main priority was to make a fast robot, having two motors on each side of the robot, so that we could be fast but also strong," he added.

Luke Voigt, captain of the Trinity College team. /ABC News Photo

As part of the competition all the team's designs and tips were posted online to share with other teams from around the world.

The winner of the competition was judged to be the team that both built the best robot and helped others.

"We had robots, but the robots were there as a vehicle to build the students and get the students collaborating," said Sue O'Malley, a teacher at Trinity College who coached the boys.

"(Winning the event) meant they were the most helpful to all of the other teams and they were the absolute role models, so we were just overjoyed."

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency