A pair of students from Assumption combined the power of artificial intelligence and their ability to think on their feet to bring home a second place prize in an international robotics competition held in Panama City recently.
Biaobiao Huang and Shehwaz Saini, both in Grade 11, placed second in the Senior Robomission category of the World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) 2025 American Open Championship in October.
"It was a really great experience," said Huang. "We got to meet a lot of players from other countries and across Canada and make some new friends."
WRO is an international non-profit organization that holds robotics competitions in 94 countries with over 24,000 teams. It consists of several different categories such as future innovators, future engineers, robosports, and robomission, which are further divided into age groups.
After finishing in first place in a regional competition in Toronto in May, followed by a second place national finish two weeks later, Shehwaz and Biaobiao competed in Panama in the Senior Robomission category, one of the most challenging and competitive. In that category, teams have to build a robot to complete tasks on a board, which can be as simple as dragging blocks to specific points, to scanning and arranging blocks based on randomized colors.
In the actual competition, the organizers add a surprise rule to the mission, which adds to the competitiveness and raises the bar of what it takes to win. Teams have one to two hours to test, implement, and design the solution to this surprise challenge.
Unlike in previous years, teams in WRO robomissions were allowed to use much more than just lego robots. They could use game-changing materials like 3D printed parts, better hardware, and more advanced firmware.
Huang and Saini capitalized on those rule changes, creating a simulation of the robot and the board to iterate and improve rapidly during the actual competition, and also using an AI camera to detect blocks and their various colours.
"I believe we were the first, if not one of the only teams in Canada to develop and use this AI system," said Huang, adding that the camera was more efficient at detecting colours of the blocks.
"That gave us a really good edge against other teams because they stuck with the traditional Lego robots," added Saini. "We took the risk."
The fact that the students performed so well on an international stage is a testament to the quality of the programming at Assumption, according to IB business teacher Jeremy Bracken.
"Very talented kids like these deserve a challenging education to push them to their limits," he said. "It's really beautiful that they've come together, found each other and found other students who can also push them and challenge them."
Both students agreed that the competition provided them with skills they'll need in the future.
"I want to go into computer science and this competition really helps you with algorithmic thinking, and to become more innovative and efficient," said Saini.
Huang said the contest, especially the surprise element, helps students with the soft skills and experience they'll need to succeed in the future
"It really makes you think on your feet and be more decisive," he said. "You just have to get in there and go do it, and that mindset has really helped me a lot."
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