Robocon 2009 with the theme “Travel together for the victory drums” was kicked of on April 3.

Up to 300 teams from universities and colleges throughout the country have gathered in the central city of Da Nang, HCM City and Hanoi to take part in the qualifier round of Robocon Vietnam 2009.

In Da Nang, the contest is seeing the participation of 16 universities and colleges, totalling 46 teams in 12 groups. According to the organising board, this contest is drawing the largest number of teams since Robocon has been organised in Vietnam.

The contest will last until April 5 to choose the best 32 teams for the national final round in the central city of Hue city from May 11-17. The final round will be aired live on VTV2 channel at 8pm every day.

The champion will represent Vietnam at the Asia-Pacific Robocon 2009 in Tokyo, Japan in August 2009. This year’s international Robocon contest will be based on Japan’s Kago palanquin procession rituals. Two robots will have to carry a palanquin named Kago through barricades. It will be an absolute victory if the robot sitting on the palanquin beats the target drum three times.

Vietnam ROBOCON 2009 is organised by Vietnam Television (VTV) and sponsored by the Toyota Motor Vietnam Co.

First appearing in 2003, ROBOCON has become an annual contest for students in the field of technology in every university and college in the Asia-Pacific region.

VietNamNet/TT/ANTD