In Kazan, schoolchildren are developing a digital robot for cleaning garbage in rivers.

      Create a digital garbage-cleaning robot for rivers and seas. This task was set for the schoolchildren finalists of the National Technological Olympiad. It is taking place at Kazan Federal University. What prize can the young geniuses receive? Inna Danilova found out. 2 million square kilometers - this is the size of the largest garbage island in the Pacific Ocean. The most important task currently facing humanity is the rapid and effective elimination of such dumps on water. After all, every year, the amount of garbage, including non-biodegradable plastic, in our rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans is increasing. A waste-cleaning robot in the aquatic environment is an excellent opportunity to free the planet from pollution. Creating a digital twin of such a robot is the task set for the finalists of the National Technological Olympiad in the "Constructive Safety" profile. The digital twin of the autonomous garbage-cleaning robot looks like this. This point on the screen represents the ship, which, while moving along the route and collecting garbage, must not encounter any obstacles along the way. And to make the task not seem abstract, there is a specific water area taken as a basis outside the windows of the KFU auditorium. However, the participants of the finals have no time to look around. Moreover, the roles of participants in the teams are strictly distributed. The developer writes the code, the analyst critically evaluates what has been done, and the architect, who is also the captain, sets tasks and tests the final result. This is how it happens in the team called "Mixed Team," as all the guys in it are from different regions of the country: Bashkortostan, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. "We didn't have teams. And the thought came that we needed to unite - that's how the 'Mixed Team' was born. On the first day of work, we took third place among all teams. So, maybe we will even win," says team member Danis Asfandiaryov. A total of about 60 kids from 13 regions came to the finals in Kazan. Moreover, it is not possible to use AI hints on the internet; one has to rely only on their brains and the team. And the organizers only complicate the task. "And they watch to see if the autonomous ship will hit a swimmer or crash into some vessel, or go ashore. Points are awarded for each successful completion of the task," says expert and task developer of the National Technological Olympiad Yuri Shishkin. Winners will receive cash prizes, but the main reward is preferences for admission to the most prestigious universities in the country, including the hospitable host of the tournament - Kazan Federal University. "As part of this event, they not only complete the task, but they also get acquainted with our university as a whole. They learn how studies are organized, get familiar with our infrastructure, and see how cultural life is arranged, as the Olympiad events are held in various university buildings," says Alexander Vasilyev, head of the Department of System Analysis and Information Technologies (KSAIT) at the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Information Technologies at KFU. This year, many new profiles have appeared within the framework of the National Technological Olympiad. Thus, "Constructive Safety" is being held in Kazan for the first time. "Overall, we are globally developing all engineering in the country. We have many different directions - from space imagery to genomic editing, from computer game development to information security," says Dmitry Kutsenko, head of the project office of the National Technological Olympiad.

      Over 1 million people have participated in the National Technological Olympiad over its 15 years of existence.

      More news about the event:

      Schoolchildren developed protection for AI robots at the Olympiad in Kazan

      The finals of the National Technological Olympiad in the new profile "Constructive Safety" concluded at KFU. 22:02 17.04.2026 IA Tatar-inform - Kazan

      In Kazan, schoolchildren are developing a digital garbage-cleaning robot for rivers

      Create a digital garbage-cleaning robot for rivers and seas. This task was set for the schoolchildren finalists of the National Technological Olympiad. 21:24 17.04.2026 GTRK Tatarstan - Kazan