The president of the Portuguese Robotics Society (SPR), who shares the organization of the festival with EPRAMI - Professional School of Alto Minho Interior, told the Lusa agency that there will be eight junior competitions, aimed at participants up to 19 years old. Vítor Pinto said that the 'First Challenger' competition "is aimed at students from primary, secondary and vocational schools for their first experience in the world of robotics". The robotics competitions aim to "promote an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit in children and young people through active teaching methods, as well as the acquisition of transversal skills, also publicizing this area to the general public". The senior competition, called 'Dragster', which aims to "promote robotics and education in the area of engineering, within a competition framework based on principles of 'fair play' will have, this year, the participation of teams of five to six elements, "mostly Portuguese, but also from Brazil, the Netherlands, Germany, China and Spain". "Robotics has been evolving for a long time at national and international level, but with the advances in artificial intelligence applications, its knowledge and proliferation are growing, especially in industry", observed Vítor Pinto. In Paredes de Coura, district of Viana do Castelo, the 23rd edition of the National Robotics Festival will take place in the municipal pavilion, and the program of the event, which includes 'workshops', activities, among other actions, has not yet been publicly released. The organization estimates to receive many visitors during the festival which, in 2023, in Tomar, received 10 thousand people. In parallel with the festival, which has the high patronage of the President of the Republic and the support of the Paredes de Coura City Council, the twenty-fourth edition of the International Conference on Autonomous Robotic Systems and Competitions will take place on May 2 and 3. Read Also: IPO do Porto bets on training center in robotic oncological surgery (Portuguese version)