Latakia, April 11 (SANA) – Forty teams took part in the 11th annual robotics championship (ARC11 Syria) held on Saturday at Latakia University (formerly known as Tishreen University), with a strong focus on youth participation and innovation in robotics and artificial intelligence.
The event was hosted by Latakia University in cooperation with the Syrian Robotics Academy (SyRA Robot), the Human Resources Management Foundation, and the Syrian Private University.
Around 150 students and coaches attended the championship, including a significant number of children and school students, alongside university participants.
The teams represented several institutions, including Latakia University, Al-Manara University, Homs University, the Syrian Private University, the National Center for the Distinguished (SyNCD), SyRA Robot, Maker Academy, MAPS Association, and Sanabel Foundation.
The championship featured five competitions designed for different age groups. These included a robot maze challenge for children aged 6–8, an autonomous robot race for ages 8–10, as well as robot sumo events and robotics project competitions for school and university teams.
Tournament director Moheeb al-Naqri told SANA that this year’s edition saw improved quality in submitted projects, particularly in smart agriculture and tourism technology.
He said the competition also serves as a qualifying stage for the World Robot Olympiad, noting that Syrian teams have previously achieved strong results in international competitions in China and Japan.
Participants highlighted the role of the championship in introducing children and young students to robotics and artificial intelligence, while fostering teamwork, creativity, and practical technical skills.
Among the projects presented was a smart agriculture robot developed by Zain al-Abidin Sharif from the Robotics Club at Homs University.
Inspired by NASA’s Curiosity rover, the system uses artificial intelligence to reduce water and fertilizer consumption and integrates drone-based field scanning with automated planting using computer vision.
Another project, presented by programmer Alaa Jannad from the “Human Mind” team, introduced a smart robotic pharmacy system enabling users to check medication availability and price via an application before receiving medicines through an automated dispensing mechanism.
The championship aims to provide students with practical experience in robotics and artificial intelligence through hands-on design and programming activities.
Kh.A
