Students to Present Robot Aurel at Robotics Olympics in Mexico City

Bratislava, August 9 (TASR) - Five secondary school students with a robot named Aurel will represent Slovakia at the international First Global Robotics Olympics taking place August 16-18 in Mexico city, the team's teacher Adam Kukla said at a press conference on Thursday. The robot was named Aurel as a way of paying homage to Slovak engineer and inventor Aurel Stodola, known for his theory of steam and gas engines. The robot is made out of approximately 1,000 components, among them 12 engines, 400 bolts and two control units. It took the students around three months to build it. "Every country has the same components to build their robot, but they have to find their own way of constructing it. They join forces and overcome various obstacles together," explained the team's member Viliam Vadocz. Education Minister Martina Lubyova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) expressed her support for the team, saying that the ministry is pleased that Slovakia has such an internationally successful team. "Slovakia's future lies in the excellence of our young people in science and technology. We hope that the students will be an example to others and will spark interest among the youth in this field," she said. The competition's theme this year is "Energy Impact", i.e. effects of the diverse means of electricity production on the environment. The event will host young engineers from more than 160 countries. bp/mch