What is WRO?

World Robot Olympiad™ (WRO) is an event incorporating science, technology,  education and robotics which brings together young people from all over the world to develop their creativity and problem-solving skills through challenging and educational robotics competitions.

There are five provincial competitions, one event each in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Western Cape and the Northern Cape, and two in Gauteng. All competing teams are ranked nationally, and from this ranking list, the top 10 to 15 teams are invited to attend and compete in the National event in Gauteng. Teams winning their category stand a chance to be invited to represent South Africa at the WRO international event.

How it Works

ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?

THIS CHALLENGE CONSISTS OF 5 CATEGORIES FOR 4 AGE GROUPS: 

REGULAR

CATEGORY

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Teams must assemble robots that can solve a specific problem. The fastest robot around the course that completes all the tasks successfully will be the winner.

OPEN

CATEGORY

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Teams must present designs for robots, based on a theme. There will be four judging categories and the team with the most points will be the winner.

FOOTBALL

CATEGORY

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Two teams each with two autonomous robots play a football (soccer) match. 10 minutes a side and the team scoring the most goals is the winner.

EXPLORER

CATEGORY

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Teams can arrive with a pre-built robot chassis, but no attachments. Teams can log a maximum of 4 scores and the highest score will be the winner.

FUTURE

ENGINEERS

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A brand new engineering challenge for college and university students to build self-driving vehicles.

This challenge is currently a pilot.

WRO Rules

REGULAR

OPEN

FOOTBALL

EXPLORER

Future

Engineers

WEDO

WRO 2021 THEME

This year the WRO theme is PowerBots - The Future of Energy.
In 2021, your team will be looking at the challenges that come with using more energy from renewable sources. Teams in the Regular Category will build and program robots that modernize the energy use of a house, assist with charging cars in a parking garage and help manage the energy mix on the grid.
Teams in Open Category will develop robots that will allow us use renewable sources of energy in the most efficient way.

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