High schoolers win big at Commercenter’s first robotics competition in ROBOCON 2019

Manila, Philippines, 20 September 2019 – Four senior high school students from Cavite National High School dominated the Entrepreneurial Category of Commercenter Alabang’s first-ever ROBOCON competition. The young inventors took home a medal, trophy, Maker Uno Kit Arduino robotics pack and PHP9,000 worth of participation fee to the 2019 RoboRAVE International: Philippine Invitationals happening from October 25 to 27, 2019. The Entrepreneurial Category of the competition has put the skills of the young robotic masters to the test in crafting fine inventions that would contribute to society.

The winning team for the Entrepreneurial category, composed of Aliah Sarmiento, Nell Ciria and Ann Repil, designed AUTOHYVER: Automated Hydrophonics Vermitea, an autonomous hydrophonics system that features running water fortified with vermitea. The AUTOHYVER aims to improve the quality of cabbage that goes out to the market. With the nutrients that vermitea brings and the automation of watering, AUTOHYVER minimizes the chances of overwatering, presence of pests and the lack of nutrient absorption. It won the favor of the subject-matter experts whose requirement is to market a working and innovative robot with a budget of PHP150,000 or less. Winning second place is Robotics Nation with its Safety Aid for the Blind and Elderly in Roadside (SABER), a cane for the visually impaired and senior citizens.

The other two categories in the robotics competition—SumoBot and a-Maze-ing— saw a total of 240 participants. Princess P. Lorilla and John Morris Quinit of De La Salle Araneta University, John B. Razonado of San Nicolas III Senior High School, and Mark Andrei M. Rivera of Bacoor National High School – Molino Main won the 1 KG, 2 KG and 3 KG categories of Sumobot, respectively. The winners were victorious in designing, building and programming autonomous robots that bested opponents in an elevated wrestling ring. Cavite National Highschool students Philippe Rae V. Varias and Franc Benedict Solis, and La Sallians Fria Ysabel B. Leido and Magnus Jefferson M. Dulnuan ruled the secondary and elementary categories of a-Maze-ing. This category challenged participants to finish a complex maze in 120 seconds.

“We congratulate the winners from all the different participating schools. We feel so lucky to have such bright young inventors in this country, and we’re honored that Commercenter Alabang was able to give them a platform to showcase their talents and skills in creating amazing robotic technology. We can’t wait to see these kids change the world with their inventions,” shares Leslie Tagle-Dinglasan, AVP for marketing of Commercenter Alabang.

In a bid to support the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academic track of the country’s education program, Commercenter Alabang, the Southern Manila leisure and lifestyle hub, welcomed a total of 270 players from 130 teams from 25 elementary and secondary schools from Metro Manila and surrounding cities to this year’s ROBOCON competition.

Michael Julius G. Hayag, director of ROBORAVE Philippines, noted how the good turnout and quality of robots produced as a strong reflection of the promising future of the local robotics industry. Hayag shares, “We are delighted and honored that we were able to provide our young inventors with this avenue to experience this competition at Commercenter Alabang. The ingenuity and creativity we saw today bolsters our optimism in the future of Philippine robotics.” Commercenter Alabang and ROBORAVE Philippines are looking forward to holding the next leg of ROBOCON which they see happening next year.

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