Fifteen schools are set to compete in the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute's (DOST-SEI) Tagisang Robotics Competition (TRC).
Veteran teams from Bangkal High School, Caloocan National Science and Technology High School, Makati Science High School, Malabon National High school, Manila Science High School, Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School, and Pasig City Science High School are slated to battle in the bout.
Pitogo High School, Quezon City High School, Rizal High School, Rizal National Science High School, San Francisco High School, Sen. Renato "Companero" Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School, Taguig Science High School, and Valenzuela School of Math and Science are also scheduled to join the competition.
Originally set on-court, the TRC will be fully virtual and will be showcased in a 120 centimeters (cm) x 12 cm playing field.
DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo said the new twists hope to sustain the teams' excitement in robotics and help them develop their skills that can kickstart their journey in the fields of sciences and engineering.
“The new game is challenging enough given that we can’t have face-to-face matches. But the test of skills and wits remains. For them to garner points, the tasks must be done successfully with mastery, efficiency, and speed in mind. So, we believe this TRC 2.0 will give them the thrill while enabling them to collaborate and learn from each other,” Biyo said.
The competition will be divided into two parts: the qualifying matches called "heats" which will test teams through a master list of tasks to accomplish with corresponding points, including basic mobot movement, line and color sensing, and motor control among others; and the final competition.
Teams will be given three heat rounds to finish between February to April to give ample time for teams to prepare.
The qualifying and championship rounds will be conducted virtually where school teams will be asked to join via a web conferencing app.
Participating school teams will send the code remotely to the onsite team and will be asked to upload it to a replica mobot to perform the tasks.
The top eight teams with the highest aggregated points will advance to the Tagisang Robotics Competition Championship round in May.
Meanwhile, the school with the highest points after the qualifying rounds will win the "Best Team Award."
The championship round will task mobots to navigate around the playing field and sort colored pallets to their respective colored areas to simulate robotics applications in a smart warehouse.
The team that finishes the task with the fastest will be crowned the champion and will receive a cash grant from DOST-SEI.