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Global Robot Fights Underway In Sydney As Young People Learn about STEM

Global Robot Fights Underway In Sydney

The RoboCats is an all girls team competing in the international competition FIRST Robotics currently on in Sydney, so as you can imagine, they're pretty popular.

Paloma Lione, 16, is in charge of the electronics and told The Huffington Post Australia it was a good feeling to know they're breaking down concepts of what a robotics fan looks like.

"Because we're all girls, it’s a bit uncommon so I guess that’s what makes our team stand out," Lione said.

"I guess robotics is usually associated with something guys would do and girls wouldn't really want to, so I guess it feels like we're leading the way."

With their robot Lady Catherine, they're hoping to navigate a complex set of Game of Thrones-style obstacles to overcome their opponent's defenses.

The RoboCats With their robot Lady Catherine.

The teams are from across Australia and the world, with stiff competition from the U.S., Singapore, Taiwan, China, and India.

'I'm glad they're not fighting robots because I don't think our team could bear to see our robot destroyed," Lione said.

"It's been six weeks of planning and building. It's been really fun."

This word "fun" is music to the ears of Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor Bruce Dowton who said the university co-sponsored the event because it had the inimitable ability to teach children about STEM -- science, technology, electronics and maths -- without feeling like a drag.

"The students see this as an enormously exciting opportunity to be involved with other children who have similar interests and just enjoy themselves," Dowton told HuffPost Australia.

"What they don't realise is they're learning an enormous amount and that skills acquisition is vital in future study or careers in STEM.

Yes, it's fun, but as Dowton says: "It's helping to develop the human capital to power Australia's big future of a technology and knowledge-based economy".

Bet the RoboCats didn't realise Lady Catherine was built to conquer the world, not just their opposition.

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