Indian Robotics Team Sigma Wins Prestigious Inspire Award at International Championship

Indian Robotics Team Sigma Wins Prestigious Inspire Award at International Championship

Indian robotics team Sigma, consisting of 12 high school students from various schools in Mumbai, has achieved a remarkable feat by winning the esteemed ‘Inspire Award’ at the FIRST Tech Challenge Asia Pacific Invitational Championship in Sydney. The team, mentored by RFL Academy, emerged victorious at the competition held at Macquarie University from July 13 to 16, 2023. This accomplishment makes Sigma only the second Indian team in the competition’s 30-year history to receive this honor on an international platform.

The talented students of Team Sigma designed, built, and programmed a robot with the capability to grab cone-shaped objects from the ground and place them at different heights, ranging from 0.2 feet to 3 feet. Their robot demonstrated an impressive stacking capacity of 20 cones within two minutes. Recognizing their achievements, Manish Gupta, the consul general of India in Sydney, felicitated Team Sigma at the consulate office and commended them for creating an indigenous robot that brought pride to India on a global stage.

In addition to their success at the championship, Team Sigma has also raised close to a million rupees to establish and support robotics labs in four underprivileged schools. These labs provide opportunities for over 1,500 students from disadvantaged backgrounds to build their own robots on a daily basis. Furthermore, Sigma has initiated and mentored two new FIRST Tech Challenge teams this season, contributing to the growth of the robotics community across India. The team was also a finalist for other prestigious awards like the Control Award, Design Award, and Connect Award.

Guiding and mentoring Team Sigma at RFL Academy in Mumbai were Atul Raut, Virendrasinh Vaghela, and Seema Tare. The team members comprised Kavish Contractor, Ayaan Bhatt, Shauryaveer Varma, Vedang Agrawal, Ranveer Jain, Agastya Bhatia, Vir Sanghvi, Jashn Singh Arora, Kabir Doshi, Raj Kothari, Bhavya Sanghrajka, and Drish Shah. Kush Keswani, a student mentor, provided support to the team in their documentation and social media journey.

The FIRST Tech Challenge Asia Pacific Invitational Championship featured 35 champion teams from 10 countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, and Australia. Team Sigma has participated in this competition for the past four years, consistently showcasing their skills and expertise.

Ashwin Shah, the Co-founder and CEO of RFL Academy, expressed his intention to foster innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and leadership skills among high school students through robotics competitions. According to Shah, these students possess technical capabilities surpassing those of second-year engineering students in fields such as CAD, coding, graphics, content creation, and more.

The Inspire Award, the most prestigious accolade in the FIRST Tech Challenge program, is presented to the team that best embodies the essence of the competition. The recipient of this award serves as an exemplary ambassador, inspiring others both on and off the field. The winning team excels in various judged categories, showcasing exceptional teamwork, robot design and construction, and a willingness to share their knowledge and experiences with others.

Earlier this year, Team Sigma won the highly coveted Think Award at the national chapter of the FIRST Tech Challenge in Pune, held from March 10 to 12, 2023.

The achievements of Team Sigma highlight the remarkable talent and dedication of Indian students in the field of robotics. Their success not only brings pride to their schools and mentors but also demonstrates India’s capabilities and potential on a global platform. Congratulations to Team Sigma for their outstanding performance and inspiring the next generation of robotic enthusiasts in India and beyond.