BUJUMBURA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Burundi will participate in the first-ever robot Olympics due in Washington DC in the United States on July 16 to 18, the coach of the Burundian team said Tuesday.
"Six secondary school pupils from Burundi and their coach will depart Burundi for the United States on Thursday to participate in the world's first robot Olympics. Those pupils are aged between 15 and 18 years. It's the first time in Burundi's history to participate in such a championship," said Canisius Bindaba, coach of the Burundian team.
According to him, the Burundian team will present a robot locally conceived and constructed.
"We hope that we will beat other competitors during the robot Olympics," Bindaba said.
He added that the team was able to construct the robot thanks to an internet-based research with the support of their partners through instructions given in an online training provided by international coaches.
Bindaba said Burundian competitors in the world's first robot Olympics are members of an organization called Great Lakes Initiatives for Communities Empowerment (GLICE Burundi).
According to him, the organization is going to deploy countrywide to train "big engineers" in robotics so that kids from their early age can conceive objects that can help them construct their country and generate employment.
Some 160 countries are expected to participate in the world's first robot Olympics. Enditem
