Ghana shines at Robofest World Championships
From the bustling workshops of the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation to the hallowed halls of Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, USA, a new chapter has unfolded in the global robotics narrative.
Last weekend's Robofest World Championships witnessed a determined surge from Ghana's brightest young minds.
Teams representing Mikrobot Academy, Apam Senior High School, Right to Dream Academy and Our Lady of Grace Senior High School (OLAG) didn't just participate but secured top spots across various contested categories.
At the heart of Ghana's impressive showing was Mikrobot Academy, a private robotics and STEM education institution established in 2014, extending across Accra, Kumasi, Tema and Tarkwa.
This year's Robofest Game Challenge, titled "Robot Parking Valet," plunged participants into the complexities of autonomous navigation, precise object manipulation and astute spatial reasoning. Within a two-minute window, teams had to programme their robotic creations to execute a sequence of parking-centric missions, among other things.
Mikrobot Academy dispatched four teams to represent Ghana across the Unknown Mission Challenge (UMC), Game, Bottle Sumo and Robo Parade categories.
Formidable
The "Prime Coders," a formidable alliance of minds from Mikrobot's Kumasi and Accra branches (Kofi Osei Afriyie, Patrick Quansah, Francis Quansah, Yaw Kusi Agyapong, Setornam Agbemenu, Roni Kponyo, Emmanuel Kponyo, Tiana Taylor and Jedi Odoom), contested the UMC, where they took second place.
Team Neo-Nexus, comprising Israel Yeboah Awuah, Emmanuel Nyhira Pobee and Philip Asumah Jnr, tackled the Game category ingenuity. Their efforts were recognised with a Special Achievement Award.
In the senior division, Ghana's OLAG team demonstrated its mettle, securing a commendable third place in the Game category and fourth in the Bottle Sumo time trial. Not to be outdone, the senior team from Apam Senior High School also made their mark, clinching second place in the Bottle Sumo time trial category.
Right to Dream Academy also received the Special Achievement Award in senior category.
“On a national scale, these victories elevate Ghana's standing on the global stage of technology and innovation.”
“They serve as a powerful testament to the untapped potential residing within its youth and contribute to the development of a future-ready workforce. Importantly, these successes act as a beacon, inspiring countless other young Ghanaians to embrace creativity, cultivate digital literacy and pursue technological advancement – all critical ingredients for national development in our increasingly digital world,” the statement said.
