Rotorua AquaBots Take the Water

Rotorua students have spent the last few months designing and building aquatic robots to take part in Rotorua’s very first NZ AquaBots competition.

Come down to the Rotorua Aquatic Centre on Sunday 15 September 2019 between 9am – 3pm watch the AquaBots complete a series of challenges and see who will be crowned the winner.

NZ AquaBots is an underwater robotics programme for school-aged children in New Zealand. Teams are formed from Years 5 – 13 students and aim to inspire students and help discover the next generation of Kiwi scientists and engineers, while introducing potential engineering and robotics careers.

The 2019 Rotorua NZAquaBots Challenge will consist of 3 underwater competitions and a team presentation. The challenges are a test of how well the students design, build, and operate their NZAquaBots. The team presentation is a test of organisational and documentation capabilities which allows the students to showcase their design and demonstrate how well they can convey their engineering ideas and market their NZAquaBot.

The challenges will include completing the NZAquaBots Obstacle Course, a competition to retrieve the most balls, and finally a competition called Te Arawa Navigation.

Panels of external judges from industry, government agencies, and all education sectors including tertiary level will evaluate each challenge.

The challenges are expected to conclude around 2.30pm, with the presentation of prizes happening at 3pm.

The 2019 Rotorua NZAquaBots Challenge was made possible by the generous support from: Rotorua Museum, Rotorua Library, Ministry of Inspiration, Hayes International, Innovatek, Friends of Rotorua Library, Rotorua Aquatic Centre, Tompkins Wake, BayTrust and Unison.

For further information please contact Jessica.wilkes@rotorualc.nz