ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2020) The US$5 million biennial international robotics competition, the Mohamed bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge 2020, MBZIRC, opened today in the nation's capital, Abu Dhabi.
According to the organisers, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, some 32 teams are competing to establish their artificial intelligence skills in the capture of drones, construction automation, firefighting and emergency response.
The three-day challenge is being organised in parallel with the fourth edition of the Unmanned System Exhibition and the Simulation and Training Exhibition and Conference at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC.
Following the MBZIRC 2020 challenge, a two-day MBZIRC Symposium will be held on 26th and 27th February at ADNEC.
Commenting on the competition, Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Steering Committee General Vice-Chair for MBZIRC 2020, said, "We are delighted to witness teams from top-ranking universities and research laboratories participating in MBZIRC 2020, pushing technological boundaries to demonstrate their capabilities.
"This signifies the prestige and global appeal of MBZIRC 2020, which offers the most suitable environment to bring out highly advanced technologies in drone capturing, construction automation, firefighting and emergency response."
Twenty four teams signed up for the Day 1 trials for Challenge-1, which will test the teams for autonomously tracking intruder UAVs, while capturing and neutralising them inside the arena. The MBZIRC 2020 jury panel includes globally renowned scholars and eminent researchers in robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
A total of 20 teams are competing to outshine others in Challenge-2, in which a team of UAVs and a UGV will collaborate to autonomously locate, pick, transport and assemble different types of brick-shaped objects to build pre-defined structures in an outdoor environment.
For Challenge-3, 22 teams will display their skills in a firefighting scenario in an urban high-rise.
Day 2 entails second trials for all three challenges, while the final winners will be announced on Day 3, which will also witness teams competing for the Grand Challenge, followed by the final award ceremony to honour the winners.
