ABU DHABI // The tasks that robot makers will have to complete to win a US $2 million prize have been announced.
Next year the capital will host the first Mohammed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge, which is open to postgraduate departments and research centres.
On Sunday, the organisers, Khalifa University, said the contest will consist of three challenges, taking place in an outdoor area the size of a football pitch
The first task is for an unmanned aerial vehicle to locate, track and land on top of a moving ground vehicle.
Secondly, an unmanned ground vehicle must locate and reach a second ground vehicle, then locate and operate a valve on a side of the vehicle.
Thirdly, a team of aerial vehicles must collaborate to locate and place a set of static and moving objects.
There will also be the so-called Grand Challenge, in which ariel and ground vehicles compete in an event that combines all three previous challenges.
Each group of finalists will receive $500,000, with the winning team taking home $2 million.
Dr Arif Al Hammadi, executive vice president of Khalifa University, said: “This competition will bring international focus on the UAE, its capabilities and on our youth and educational programmes, and also encourage universities in the region to focus more on science, technology and robotics.”
Dr Mohammed Al Mualla, the university’s senior vice president for research and development, said he hoped the competition would “set of benchmark robotics challenges that will attract the best international teams, showcase state-of-the-art robotics technology and inspire innovation”.
He appealed for entrants to register for the competition.
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