Competition intensified on the penultimate day of the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai as a whopping 141 qualifying matches were played, which included all 191 of the countries represented at the third annual robotics event.

At the end of a thrilling day of robotics competition, Kazakhstan leads the rankings with 1,167 points – a full 50 points ahead of second place. Once every qualifying-round match has been played (they conclude on 27 October at around 11am) 32 teams will progress into the Finals.

The finals take place from 2pm to 3.30pm on 27 October. The six-team, three-on-three Grand Final will be held from 4pm to 4.30pm, following which the overall winner will be crowned.

In the final, three teams will ally with each other to take on another three newly-formed allies, in a demonstration of the event’s principle of cooperation and communication among youth.

Throughout the first two days of the event, the 1,500 youth represented at the event have been blown away by the myriad cultures, languages and colors on show at the Dubai-held event – the first in the event’s history to be hosted outside the Americas, and which has taken country representation from 157 to 191. It’s a sentiment that has swept the competition halls of Festival Arena’s purpose-built competition zones, embodying the values of the UAE’s Year of Tolerance.

The second day of the competition was attended by a number of senior officials, ministers and ambassadors in the UAE, experts in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence from around the world, as well as local, regional and global media covering this event, testifying to the UAE’s global leadership in areas of technology, innovation and fostering the values of tolerance and constructive cooperation.

International Cooperation

In a tweet from his Twitter account, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry commended the performance of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) in organizing FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai, and said: “DFF is taking a forward look at solving the problems of tomorrow from energy to health to the home with the help of robotics and AI. Excited to see how the US and the UAE can collaborate in the future.”