MUMBAI: The stage is set for the first Robocon Contest scheduled to be held at the Japanese capital Tokyo tomorrow. National broadcaster Doordarshan, the regional sponsor of the event, has sent a four member team for the Tokyo contest.

The Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad, which won the Indian leg of the Championship, held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur last month, will represent India. They defeated IIT Kanpur and Vivekananda Institute of Technology, Mumbai to secure a berth on the Tokyo flight, according to an official press release.

ABU Robocon is an international educational event targeted at university, college and poly technic students in the Asia Pacific Region to popularize robotic games. Representative teams will compete with their peers in other countries with their hand made robots, reflecting exuberant creativity, outstanding technology and strong team work. The Robocon contest aims to create friendships, promote exchange of information among young people beyond national boundaries.

The contest orangised by the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) will be broadcast by participating broadcasters in the Asia Pacific region. 20 institutions from 19 countries are participating in the first ABU Robocon. The contest called Reach For Mount Fuji is a sort of basketball match played by the robots. There are 17 tubes on the play field and the robots go about putting the beach balls into them. A team is considered winner when the reach is completed, that is when five consecutive teams are occupied in a diagonal line, which must include the highest central summit the Mount Fuji. The duration of a game is three minutes.

Besides the Tokyo Award that will be given for the winning team, there are two runners up awards and special prizes for Best idea, Best artistic design, and Best technique. Doordarshan a member of the ABU in collaboration with IIT Kanpur has taken the first step in popularising robot games in India, the release says.

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