Taking the 16th place in the international robot-sumo competition, Giedrius Liaučys, a master’s student at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Panevėžys Faculty of Technologies and Business is one of the best sumo robot builders in the world in the 3 kg robot-sumo category. 92 participants from all over the world took part in the international competition in Japan.
Giedrius, who studies control technologies, is also a teacher at Technology Learning Centre in Panevėžys. He won the travel to Japan during the local robot competition Robotiada 2017.
“3 kg sumo robots can be either fast or heavy, or, in robot builders’ terminology, they are hares or turtles. The builders are limited by the robot’s weight and size, thy have to comply to the safety requirements. For example, the batteries of the robot have to be no older than 2 years and the anti-fire fuse has to be installed”, says Giedrius.
KTU student has been preparing for the international competition in Japan since last spring. He says that building of the robot starts from assembling all the necessary parts in a box of a certain size. First goes the engine, then batteries, main sensors, and the rest of the space can be filled with elements, which enhance the robot’s qualities within the given weight.
“I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, and more insights emerged along the way”, says Giedrius.
According to the young robot builder, the main challenge in this field is to manufacture, find and integrate the parts, as they have to be ordered from all over the world. If there is not enough time left for the delivery of the parts, the project may fail.
He is grateful for KTU and Panevėžys Municipality whose support allowed to purchase all the necessary parts, which was instrumental in achieving the success in competition.
“All robot-sumo fights were supervised by at least 4 judges, who evaluated every instance: the robot’s position and movements, the participant’s position, etc. Violating any of the aspects might cause losing of points”, Giedrius Liaučys explains the rules.
He was impressed by the perfect organisation of the competition in Japan, and came home inspired by the tactics of the opponents.
“In the sumo robot competition there is a law that the most beautiful robots are the weakest ones. Japanese robots are not good looking, but very well prepared. If the robot breaks during the competition, you lose, as there is no time for repairing it”, says Giedrius.
For the next competition the KTU student is planning to build a turtle: “Although I was not disappointed by the hare, but it would be interesting to try a different strategy”.
Now he is determined to win a ticket to the next year’s robot-sumo competition in Japan by participating in regional competitions in Latvia, Poland or Romania.
