World Robotic Olympiad – Page 2

October 25, 2023April 18, 2024

Hard Work Deserves Celebration

Just this past weekend, we had an incredibly important celebration for our national and international World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) competitors! Wanting to celebrate their achievements we had been hard at work setting up a small event for the kids this Saturday, with demonstrations, speeches, and of course, food. But behind the scenes, Jami had been toiling away on another secret project. Equipped with a silver tongue, she managed to invite and convince some of our local MPP’s to come down and show their support for our hard-working students as well! MPP’s Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand were more than delighted to make an appearance, and honour the competitors, even bringing special awards recognizing their triumphs.

Parents were the first to arrive, catching up with one another, as well as sharing their experiences of the national finals. The kids mingled among each other, either grabbing food, or checking up on their robots, fine tuning them before the MPPs arrivals. Not too long after, the ministers rolled in, and the teams were ready to show off all their hard work. The Future Innovators delivered their well-crafted presentation and demonstration of their robot to combat biofouling. The RoboMission team showed off their robots’ agility and precision by picking up, carrying, and carefully placing rings. In a new twist on RoboSports, the autonomous robots played against the MPPs who tossed the balls back as if they were a robot team.

The Future Innovators Team show off their robot to combat biofouling. MPP Nina Tangri asks questions about the project.

After the festivities, speeches were held by founder Satish, alongside the wonderful MPP’s. They congratulated the students and encouraged them to keep reaching for the stars, as who else but the next generation would be able to grasp them. Then each team was awarded a special certificate, recognition from the Government of Ontario for their accomplishments. Parents and coaches alike burst into applause as the teams received their awards, handed to them by both Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand. Finally, the teams going to Panama were presented with the Canada jerseys they will wear throughout the WRO competition, and they had a chance to pose with the Canadian flag.

The teams going to WRO Internationals pose with the coaches and MPPs Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand.

As the event came to a close, students went back to their parents, receiving smiles, hugs, and words of affirmation. It was a brilliant sendoff for our international competitors and a proud recognition of our national competitors after all their hard work.

Stay posted to our blog and social media for updates on the international teams as they travel to Panama in two weeks’ time. As we cheer on the international competitors, we are already gearing up for the FLL season and starting a new season of STRIPE Competition. Stay tuned for updates on both of those as well! Thank you for reading!

September 25, 2023April 18, 2024

Good Things Always Come In 3’s!

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog you might remember us previously mentioning that we were going to Panama for the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO) International. Two teams earned their spot through ingenious concepts, and hard work. If you haven’t read up on it, you can do so [here]. However, good things always come in 3s!

Just last weekend, in Kingston, Ontario, more of our teams battled for a spot in the WRO Internationals. The competition was not only fierce, but it was close. Two of our teams came close to victory that day with incredible performances that had people cheering. The first of the teams performed incredibly well, their robot avoiding obstacles and navigating on its own absurdly well. However, its competition was just as skillful, and both teams were neck and neck on the leaderboards. As a result, judges needed more time to review the performance of each robot and to double-check the tally of points to see who would come out on top. In the end, the judges gave their verdict, and our team came in second. A mere minor bump against an obstacle cost our team 2 points, and it was enough to drop us down to second place.

While they won’t be going onto the WRO competition, they still came second overall, and performed exceptionally well at the event. They are proud of their hard work, as they put up such an impressive fight in the robotic ring. We too are proud of them and are eager to see their hard work pay off again next year. But they weren’t the only ones who were gunning for Panama.

Our other team also had a shot at the internationals, and they fought hard to try and get there. After performing very well in previous events, it came down to a tennis match to see who would go down to Panama in November. Their rival was another competent team, and had performed well so far, and so our team steeled itself for a hard fight.

The team preparing their bots for the tennis match

The first match was tight, with the tennis balls being slung back and forth at rapid pace. It looked like we would take the lead, but the other teams robots ensured that just wouldn’t happen. Slowly, but surely, they took the advantage and closed out the match in the lead. We had lost. But thankfully, that was only the first of 3 matches.

The second match began shortly after the first, and we were looking to avenge our previous loss. The balls went back and forth between the courts, but we gained the lead relatively quickly all things considered. The opposing team didn’t give up easily however, and we had to work to keep our advantage. But as the timer rang out, we firmly cemented our win, evening the scores between us and them.

It all came down to that 3^rd and final match. Electricity was in the air as it began, both teams knowing what was on the line. The match was close. Everyone kept their eyes on the table, holding their breath and clenching their fists. As the balls flung, people started to lose count as to who was in the lead. We could have been leading. We could have been losing. But then, tragedy struck. As our robots flung the tennis balls, we noticed not as many were returning. One of the rival teams’ robots had gotten stuck. Squished between the wall, it lay motionless, unable, or unwilling, to fight any longer. As the buzzer rang out, we exploded in joyous celebration. We had won, securing our place in the internationals.

Now, our teams gear and tool their robots to be ready for the big event. This November we will fight again, this time for Canada, as we once more try to secure first place in the WRO competitions. They will be flying out to Panama City in November, battling it out on the world stage between the 7^th and the 9^th. While tickets are unavailable, we will keep you informed on how the competition goes. We will see you again then!

December 24, 2022June 24, 2026

2022: Two Teams, One Stage: Woodchucks and The Nulls Represent Canada in Dortmund

In 2022, Zebra Robotics sent two strong teams to the World Robot Olympiad Internationals in Dortmund, Germany — each carrying a season of hard-earned momentum into the world stage.

Woodchucks — Nila Thiyagarajan, Shruti Nehete, and Riyanshi Sharma — had a near-perfect run through the season, competing in the Robo Mission Elementary category. They finished first at both the GTA Regionals and Canada Nationals, arriving in Dortmund with plenty of confidence. That confidence was well placed: on Day 1, the team scored full points on their core mission and successfully completed part of the surprise challenge — no small feat against the world’s best teams. They went on to finish in the top 40% globally, a strong showing for an Elementary-level team on the international stage.

The Nulls — Vedant Nehete, Dave Grewal, and Elil Thirumugam — faced a tougher road. Early in their run, their robot made contact with a game object, triggering a cascading error that cost the team around 50 points — the kind of single moment that can define a competition. But the team didn’t let it define their event. On Day 2, they bounced back, with their robot completing nearly 80% of the challenge. It wasn’t quite enough to climb back into medal contention, but the team still finished a respectable top 20% overall — a testament to their resilience under pressure.

Two teams, two very different competition stories — but both reflecting what Zebra Robotics teams bring to every World Robot Olympiad: preparation, composure, and the ability to adapt when things don’t go to plan.

December 24, 2018June 24, 2026

2018: Wooducks: A Bold Robot Redesign, A Tough Lesson, and an Unforgettable Trip to Thailand

By 2018, Zebra Robotics had a new team ready to test its mettle on the world stage. Wooducks — made up of Nikhil Thiyagarajan, Srijay Mundalur, and Shounak Roy — earned their spot through a strong regular season, finishing first at the GTA Regionals before heading to Canada Nationals in Montreal, where they placed third and secured their qualification for the World Robot Olympiad Internationals in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In the lead-up to Internationals, the team made a bold call: a major redesign of their robot’s drivetrain, swapping in larger wheels for extra speed. It was a calculated risk — and one that didn’t pay off the way they’d hoped. The bigger wheels sacrificed the precision their missions depended on, and despite multiple adjustments and troubleshooting attempts on-site, the team couldn’t dial the accuracy back in before the competition clock ran out.

It’s the kind of result that stings in the moment — but it’s also exactly the kind of lesson robotics competitions are built to teach. Speed means nothing without control, and sometimes the most valuable thing a team brings home isn’t a medal, but a hard-earned engineering principle they’ll never forget.

Beyond the competition mat, Wooducks made the most of representing Canada abroad — forming new friendships with teams from around the world and exploring Thailand from Chiang Mai to Phuket to Bangkok before heading home. A tough competition result, wrapped in an experience the team will remember for years.