Micronesian Schools Plan 'Yapital Robo Day'

Micronesia Yapital Robo Day 2013 iii.jpg

Contact: Larry Raigetal

 Waa’gey

Box 254, Yap FM 96943

(691) 950-1151

contact@waagey.org

Educators at the two independent High Schools on Yap have announced  plans for a public exhibition and competition, featuring teams from  their student robotics clubs.

The 2013 “Yapital Robo Day,” will highlight the work of robotics teams  from both Yap Catholic High School and the SDA School. It will serve as a  culmination of the participating students’ hard work throughout the  school year. The event will be held on Friday, May 17th at the Community  Center in Colonia, starting at 3:00pm. Both schools will demonstrate  the capabilities of their robots by navigating the machines through a  series of obstacles and retrieving doughnut shaped cargos with the  robotic claws.

Club members are looking to show community members, public officials,  and their peers the capabilities of the VEX robots each team has built.  Parts for the machines were initially donated by the US-based charity  “Habele.” Over the course of the school year, the student teams have  designed, assembled and programed the robots, turning those piles of raw  materials into fully functioning robots.

Last year the two schools participated in the first-ever Yap Robo Day.  It was coordinated by local community organization “Waa’gey.” That  event, which garnered headlines across the Pacific and earned the  recognition of robotics aficionados throughout the US, was Oceania’s  first ever student robotics exhibition.

“The feedback on last year’s event was amazing,” explained Neil Mellen,  President of Habele. “Our worry was that despite the hard work of the  students and enthusiasm of their teachers, we wouldn’t be able to raise  the money to buy new parts and stage the Robo Day event again.”  Thankfully, the European based electronic payments firm “Yapital”  offered to help.

Yapital’s financial support enabled Habele to purchase upgrade kits and  spare parts for the robots, as well as shirts for all participating  students. They also plan to cover the cost of hosting the Robo Day event  itself. “When a delegation from Yapital visited Yap last fall we heard a  lot about the Robo Day and just how much it meant to the participating  students,” said Nils Winkler, Yapital CEO. “This type of practical  application of science and technology instruction is inspiring. We at  Yapital are proud to be supporting these hard working students and  educators in Yap State.”