GALLERY: Robotex now Europe's largest robot battle event

Tallinn's Robotex became Europe's largest robot competition event after a record 530 robots battled it out in 17 competitions over three days at the Tallinn University of Technology (TUT).
The event, held over the weekend at TUT's Sports Center, was watched by a record 14,000 people. A total of 1,422 engineers from 15 nations with 657 robots registered at the event, with slightly fewer turning up. A number of robots failed a technical check and were deemed unsuitable for the event.
“This means Robotex is now Europe's largest robot competition as at the RobotChallenge in March in Vienna, Austria, 491 robots cleared technical checks and were allowed to compete” said Marti Arak, of TUT's engineering department.
“Robotex broke all personal records, of which the most important was that the public record over three days grew to around 14,000. I would like to thank all competitors, spectators, organizers and supporters, who helped realize Robotex,” Arak said.
Around a third of the competitors came from abroad, with Latvia (73), Lithuania (58), Russia (11) and Poland (7) on the top of the list. Roboticists from Belarus, Colombia, Algeria, Finland, Sweden, Greece, India, Nigeria, Turkey and Ukraine also took part.
Besides universities, a number of high schools also sent robots, such as the Rakke Gymnasium from Lääne Viru County, which participated with 29 robots, more than TUT or the University of Tartu.
Besides the 17 competition events, a technology expo was also opened. Competitions for kids were held, as well as 24 workshops on robot engineering.
Editor: J.M. Laats