The Manetti Porciatti Technological Center was also Italian Champion at the World Robot Olympiad

The Peeler team triumphs in Brescia. Now the Robotics World Championships in Panama

WORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD awardsWORLD ROBOT OLYMPIAD awards

The Manetti Porciatti Technological Center continues to reap successes on a national level, winning the title of Italian champion at the World Robot Olympiad Italia in the Robomission Senior category. After the title in Rome with the soccer robots, this time the students obtained the one with the Lego robots, thanks to the "Wire Peeler" team made up of boys from the 3EC and 4EC classes of the Electronics (Robotic bending) branch, under the expert guidance by Professor Daniele Benedettelli. That of the Grosseto team was an overwhelming victory in the final races, which will allow participation in the world championships scheduled for Panama next November.

The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an international robotics competition, founded in 2004 and based on Lego robots, aimed at students aged 8 to 19. This year, the “Connecting the world - Marine Life preservation” competition addressed the topic of how robots can help connect the world in a sustainable way. Panama, with its famous Canal, is the host country of the 2023 WRO Finals and is a central point for global maritime logistics. The missions that young people from around the world will face building and programming autonomous Lego robots are focused on the ways in which these machines can improve the efficiency and safety of shipping and digital technology infrastructures. “In the footsteps of the traditional Olympics, which celebrate sport and athletic competition, the World Robot Olympiad - explained Professor Benedettelli - demonstrates how these robotics competitions can be a "sport for the mind". Not only do students develop technical skills such as programming and engineering, but they also engage in sportsmanship, dedication and the development of soft skills such as teamwork and respect for the rules:” In the Robomission Senior category, the robot Lego Mindstorms, developed by electronics students Thomas Corridori, Alessandro Di Lorenzo, Stefano Rocchi together with their classes during curricular time, accomplished the missions impeccably, autonomously loading multicolored containers onto two container ships and then transporting them safely out of the port. “Participation in the competitions - says Professor Benedettelli, a freelance Lego designer known in the Italian community as prof. Mattoncini, world-renowned expert and author of books on educational robotics   - was made possible thanks to the fundamental support of Tecnoseal, a world leading company in the production of sacrificial anodes for cathodic protection in the industrial and nautical sectors, and therefore a tailor-made sponsor for the theme of the competition.” “There are no more words to describe the excellence that I am honored to lead - is the comment of the head teacher Claudio Simoni -. The “Wire Peeler” and Professor Daniele Benedettelli are yet another demonstration of the level we have reached. Obtaining these results is not something that happens every day, just as it is not usual to be able to excel at a national level in two competitions such as Robocup Junior and WRO. I believe that in Italy ours is the only school that can boast two national titles at the same time   with the possibility of defending the blue colors at the World Cup in their respective competitions. The entire Maremma must feel proud to be represented by its young people at these global events in Panama and Bordeaux, in which the best minds in the world will compete."