The first international robotics competition for high schoolers made headlines before it even started -- and after the event was over as well. First there was the story of the all-girl Afghanistan team, which was denied visas to attend for unknown reasons. Then there was the post-competition story: All six teens on the Burundi team were reported missing on Wednesday, the day after the competition ended, with reports that two of them were headed to Canada. At the last minute, the Afghan team did get visas. They waved their country's flag during the parade of nations at the event's opening ceremonies.

Police confirmed at least two of the missing teenagers from the Burundi robotics team were in Canada, according to the Washington Post. The remaining four were not in danger. Six teens from Burundi, Africa went missing following a robotics competition in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. The team's mentor noticed they were gone and notified the event's organizers and police, who promptly mounted a search for the teens. Six teenage members of a robotics team from Burundi, Africa, vanished this week after a competition in Washington, D.C.

Two members of an African robotics team who were reported missing from an international robotics competition in Washington, D.C. were reportedly spotted crossing into Canada on Thursday morning, authorities said. The D.C. Police Department said that Don Ingabira, 16, and Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, were seen crossing the northern border into Canada, Fox 5 DC reported. No additional information was available. The two teenagers were part of a six-member team from the small east African country of Burundi who were in the nation's capital for the inaugural even of the FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition. They were reported missing late Tuesday night.

In fact, there are already a huge number of technologies engaged within the cultural sector. Autonomous vehicles require detailed 3D maps to operate, and this tech in now being used to digitize and map historical buildings. CyArk, for example, is aiming to digitally preserve heritage sites, and entire cities, across the world before they are lost to natural disasters, armed conflicts, and neglect, using autonomous driving and mapping technologies. Take a look at this 3D map of New Orleans quarter. The company also mapped the Royal Tombs of Kasubi (Uganda) in 2009, a year before fire destroyed many of the site's structures.

Shortly before the competition, the team was finally able to find a sponsor willing to take a chance on paying for the visa fees. Yet the sponsor would only pay for the people who had a good shot at getting an application approved under the travel ban. The team decided that Jorny and Jehad were the best candidates, since they had applied successfully for visas the year before the ban was in effect in order to attend exchange programs in the U.S. They boarded a flight to Tunisia to apply at the U.S. embassy (the U.S. does not have an embassy in Libya) and came straight to the competition in D.C. after getting visa approval.

This article was first published on the IEC e-tech website. Rapid advances in technology are revolutionizing the roles of aerial, terrestrial and maritime robotic systems in disaster relief, search and rescue (SAR) and salvage operations. Robots and drones can be deployed quickly in areas deemed too unsafe for humans and are used to guide rescuers, collect data, deliver essential supplies or provide communication services. The first reported use of SAR robots was to explore the wreckage beneath the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Drones and robots have been used to survey damage after disasters such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan in 2011 and the earthquakes in Haiti (2010) and Nepal (2015).

The app store's most popular free app is being used to bully people, according to its users. Sarahah might be unknown to many people. But it has quickly become popular among some iPhone users, and has become the top performing free app in the US app store, since it was released earlier this year. But the app has a dark side, according to some users and reviewers. It is being used to anonymously bully vulnerable people and has been described as a "breeding ground for hate".

The maker of the world's most deadly firearm has unveiled plans for a radical AI controlled gun for the Russian military. Kalashnikov, best known for its AK-47 rifle, is building'a range of products based on neural networks,' including a'fully automated combat module' that can identify and shoot at its targets. The new products were revealed in an interview with Kalashnikov spokeswoman Sofiya Ivanova by TASS, a Russian government information agency. The Kalashnikov'combat module' will consist of a gun connected to a console that constantly analyses image data to identify targets. According to Kalashnikov it will be able to'make decisions' on whether to shoot.

We should have been more specific. Organizers say this event is the first global robotics competition specifically for high school students. There have been other robotics competitions with teams from multiple countries.]

A team of Afghan girls whose plight resounded with the world won a silver medal for "courageous achievement" at an international robotics contest in the United States, with judges praising the group's "can-do attitude". The First Global Challenge event in Washington ended on Tuesday, having attracted teams of teenagers from more than 150 nations. But all eyes were on the squad of girls from Afghanistan, who had twice travelled 800 kilometres to the American embassy in Kabul, only to have their visa applications turned down. They were finally granted entry with just one week to go until the event began after their story had gone viral. In an interview with Al Jazeera, before US officials decided to allow them in the country, team member Rodaba Noori said: "We wanted to show our talents to the world so they would know that we do have skills."