Welcome RoboCup 2021 to Thailand

The World's top robotic competition heads for Thailand in 2021.

BANGKOK, Nov. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand has successfully won the right to host RoboCup 2021 Bangkok in June 2021, an event that will strengthen the country's status as a leading robotics and automation leader in the ASEAN region.

Backing the event is Thailand's Ministry of Science and Technology, with support from Mahidol University, NCC International Events Company Limited (NCCIE), Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

"To develop a strong and prosperous robotics industry that will support of other industries, it is essential to have a qualified workforce endowed with all relevant knowledge and technical skills," said Minister of Science and Technology Dr Suvit Maesincee.

"A mega event such as RoboCup 2021 has huge significance owing to its link to one of Thailand 4.0's target industries, therefore the Thai government is honoured to support it through the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with TCEB and all other relevant government agencies. Furthermore, I would like to congratulate Mahidol University and NCC International Events for successfully bidding for the right to organise such big international robot competition."

The Minister emphasised the event would contribute to Thailand's human-resource development by creating a competitive environment for Thais to present innovative robotic technology and be on par with international standards.

RoboCup 2021 to be hosted in June, 2021 will give the Thai capital, Bangkok, an opportunity to present foreign participants that it has solid potential to become the region's leading smart city.

BMA will pursue the "smart city" concept promoting Bangkok during RoboCup 2021 on a wider scale. Public relations campaigns will be conducted extensively so that students and young workers could attend the competition.

Thai robot inventors, or educational institutes, could also join the competition and are encouraged to begin preparations now to compete against the world's top contestants, who will vie for prizes at RoboCup 2021.

National Science and Technology Development Agency executive vice president, Dr Janekrishna Kanatharana said: "The robotics industry will play a crucial role in driving Thai industries in line with the Thailand 4.0 strategy. Undeniably, the demand for industrial robots has grown significantly in the face of a labour shortage and intensifying business competition."

He pointed out that despite Thailand's ongoing transition into an aged society, so far, the replacement of human workforce by robots was still relatively low.

Mahidol University's Faculty of Engineering dean and chair of the organising committee for RoboCup 2021, Assistant Professor Dr Jackrit Suthakorn explained RoboCup was first launched in 1997 to promote robotics research and development through an international academic robot competition.

"The founding ambition was to ensure a robot soccer team would be able to beat the World Cup champions by 2050 based on rules set by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)."

In pursuit of that goal, RoboCup has created several leagues that build networks for the exchanges of academic robotic knowledge among research institutes across the world.

Through these networks, interest in RoboCup has grown in line with breakthroughs in robotic research. RoboCup contestants are on the rise too, with the competition now attracting more than 3,000 participants from 45 countries each year.

RoboCup has two main categories. One known as RoboCup Junior League is for contestants age no more than 19 years, while the other, RoboCup Major League, is for contestants 19 years and over.

The RoboCup Federation has chosen Thailand as the host of RoboCup 2021 because of the country's success organising RoboCup Asia-Pacific in 2017.

Held last December, the event drew more than 1,500 contestants from 14 nations worldwide. RoboCup Asia-Pacific 2017 received strong support from Thai government agencies in all related fields creating the foundation for the successful bid for RoboCup 2021.

Thailand has also been a regular participant in RoboCup competitions, winning several awards from the RoboCup Federation.

TCEB is the partner to secure the successful bid to host RoboCup 2021 as part of ongoing projects to draw mega-events to Thailand.

"Hosting mega events, or world-class events rank among economic drivers that deliver tangible benefits," said TCEB's president, Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya. "A study on economic impacts reveals mega events brought about 850,000 visitors to Thailand in 2017. Altogether, these visitors directly and indirectly generated about Bt16 billion revenue and created 17,492 jobs."

For further information, please contact: Corporate Communications Department
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization)  
Ms. Kwanchanok Otton, Tel: +662 694 6000, Email: [email protected] 
Mr. Issara Rotchanakuson, Tel: +662 694 6181, Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)