Lectures, Projects, Robots: St. Petersburg Hosts Finals of I Am a Professional Contest

For the first time in the competition’s history, the finals of the Robotics track took place at Sberbank’s tech hub, situated in the renovated Kalinin Plant in the Vasileostrovsky district of St. Petersburg.

Albert Efimov, VP and director of the Research and Innovation Department at Sberbank’s Technology Block, spoke to the finalists about tech trends and Sber’s current projects. According to the expert, models capable of reasoning have already been developed in Russia, China, and the US; the next step in their development is the transition to AGI – an artificial intelligence that can learn on its own and solve the same cognitive tasks as humans. The development of AI will transform robotics, as well. Today, robots are already quite good at understanding human speech and recognizing images and sounds, but they are yet to learn to understand space and the positioning of objects, as well as identify smells. If these limits are overcome, developers will be able to start working on embodied artificial intelligence, which would make it possible for a robot to independently interact with the real world and make decisions on its own.

“For me, the contest is an opportunity to gain experience with tackling unconventional tasks. I already got silver last season, but it was interesting to walk this path once again. This year, I met new people and got to hear about the further development of AI at a lecture by a Sber expert. This was useful because I’m planning to change my current field of study and delve deeper into studying AI in the future. In that sense, I believe that ITMO is one of the few universities in St. Petersburg where as a Master’s student, I’ll be able to study both robotics and AI,” comments Kirill Hitushkin, a fourth-year student at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

At ITMO, the finalists got to see how modern robotics trends are implemented in practice. Researchers and PhD students of the Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics gave the participants a special tour of its laboratories and spoke about their projects. For example, the faculty’s researchers are working with Sberbank’s Robotic Center on a navigation and odometry system for mobile autonomous ground, water, and aerial robots. What’s more, scientists at ITMO’s laboratories are developing intelligent systems that coordinate the actions of manipulator robots.

The researchers also come up with algorithms for controlling the movement of robotic systems, such as autonomous ships, and integrated systems for copters. The latter provide better information about orientation angles, speed, and copter movement based on accelerometer and gyroscope data as well as additional barometric, infrared, and ultrasound data channels. Students use lathes and other equipment to create the necessary parts right at the university; at the on-campus testing grounds, they collect data and train walking robots and copters to navigate and move in complex environments: in the dark or among people and glass windows.

“The contest helped me improve my skills as a developer. For example, this was my first time working with computer vision algorithms and image recognition, and my background in control theory helped me come up with an unconventional solution for a task. I’m aiming for the main prize: enrollment in a Master’s program. And I’m considering ITMO, among others, as it has programs in robotics and AI – and the tour of the faculty’s labs helped me learn more about how control theory is used in practice with industrial robots, walking robots, drones and in other robotics fields,” notes Dmitry Savinov, a fourth-year student at Don State Technical University.

The finalists presented their solutions to an expert jury. The participants of the Bachelor’s and Master’s tracks all developed algorithmic and software solutions in C++ and Python, though their tasks were different. Bachelor’s students had to come up with a way for an unmanned vehicle to cover the longest distance in a limited time, and Master’s students – a way for a robotic station to identify the position of variously shaped and colored parts, grab them, and place them in a correct location.

"I took part in the contest last year, but I landed just a little short of third place. This time it was also difficult, but I practiced my performance many times and hopefully the result will be better. As a foreign student, I was interested in challenging myself at a Russian contest and getting a chance to continue my education at ITMO. In my four years here, I have already received a strong academic foundation in robotics and practiced on real robots in the lab. Next, I plan to study other related fields, such as AI, so that after graduation I can get a job as an engineer in the field of robotics," says Huynh Tan Cuong, a fourth-year Bachelor’s student of the Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics.

The results of the Robotics track are yet to be published. All winners will get the opportunity to enroll at the country’s leading universities, including ITMO, and take internships at major Russian companies; medal winners will also receive an additional prize of up to 300,000 rubles.

I Am a Professional is a nationwide contest for Bachelor’s, Master’s and Specialist’s students of Russian universities. The competition aims to test both their theoretical and practical knowledge and competencies. The project’s main goal is to support talented students by giving them an opportunity to continue their education at leading universities and start their careers at leading companies. ITMO University oversees three of the competition’s tracks: Robotics, Information & Cyber Security, and Programming & IT, with Sberbank serving as general partner for each of the tracks.