Greek students win Gold at International Robotics Olympiad for Youngsters

Published by

GCT Team

Congratulations to Iris Angelopoulou, Vasiliki Iliadi, Christos Rentzis and Alkiviadis Kotsikopoulos who won gold for Greece at the International Robot Olympiad for youngsters, which was held digitally earlier this month.

The four ‘youngsters’ from the PlaisioBots team, won the top prize for creating a “smart” white cane for the blind.

“We hope our invention will help millions of people and improve their lives,” Rentzis said.

The team which was sponsored by one of the largest technology outlets in Greece, Plaisio, worked closely together during the coronavirus pandemic.

The CEO of Plaisio, Costas Gerardos, said the gold medal “was the most moving and optimistic milestone in my 18 years in the business.”

The white cane has a 3D detection sensor that warns the user of obstacles that are in the environment.

It can also “read” traffic lights, allowing it to tell users when to cross the street.

“For the first time in history, the Greek team faced the brightest children’s minds in the world and took the gold, leaving behind teams from countries such as Korea and Russia, that have enormous experience in robotics,” he added.

The students were coached by world robotics champion Dialekti Athina Voutyrakou and assisted by Iason Somoglou.