NI Brings Collegiate-Level Competition to World Robot Olympiad

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) and World Robot Olympiad (WRO) announced a collegiate-level competition to inspire innovation among students around the world. The pilot for the competition will take place at this year's WRO world championship held in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 15 to 17. Since the robotics competition was founded in 2004, it has used NI technology via LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® and now opens a new level of competition to give students an advanced programming option using the same software as professional engineers in virtually every industry.

"NI shares our belief that the best way to inspire students to pursue careers in science and engineering is to encourage them with fun, hands-on experiences," said Johnson Jan, WRO chairman of the board. "The new collegiate-level competition at WRO engages students using real-world robotics platforms powered by LabVIEW to teach engineering fundamentals and creative problem solving skills."

NI, a WRO sponsor, worked with the organization to develop an advanced pilot competition based on NI LabVIEW system design software for students age 17 and up. The Mars Colony-themed competition is a pilot in 2013 and becomes an official part of the global competition in 2014, when it opens to all WRO member countries. Approximately 100 collegiate-level teams participated in this pilot and teams from 15 countries will advance to the final competition in Jakarta. This collaboration builds on the previous NI partnership with WRO. In 2012, NI was a global sponsor of WRO and supported regional teams and events in Costa Rica, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria and Singapore.

About WRO
The World Robot Olympiad is an event for science, technology and education that brings together young people all over the world to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robotics competitions. Schools are invited to enter a team of two to three students to participate in this competition. Participating teams create, design and build a robot that solves different tasks.

About National Instruments
Since 1976, National Instruments (www.ni.com) has equipped engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery. NI's graphical system design approach to engineering provides an integrated software and hardware platform that speeds the development of any system needing measurement and control. The company's long-term vision and focus on improving society through its technology supports the success of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders.

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SOURCE National Instruments