Gadgets Come Alive [Excerpt]

Shapour Shahidi dreams of building a school of robot fish that would swim from Canada to Africa just to say "hi."

His prototype -- made from an old VCR and spare computer parts -- was on display yesterday at the Eastern Canadian Robot Games held at the Ontario Science Centre.

There were 89 robots entered in the forth annual event, which runs until 4 pm today. The gadgets do everything from sumo wrestle to fight fires.

Just one was built to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.

"Everything started from Africa then spread around the world. I want to send a message back home: ‘Hello Old World from the New World," Shahidi, a 47-year-old Toronto artist, said.

Shahidi said he feels he's given his delicate-looking sculpture of wires and plexi-glass life, so he should set it free. It is the BEAM robot philosophy, which stands for biology, electronics, aesthetics and mechanics, he explained.

"I want to watch them in the wild where they'd become alive," he said.

Shahidi's solar-powered creation is art. Other robots on display had a more practical purpose.

Of course, the games wouldn't be complete without fighting robots with names such as Space Junk and Black Devil.

About 200 teams were signed up for robot competitions such as sumo wrestling and racing.

The Games expect to attract 2,000 people over two days, spokesman Blair Clarkson said, adding the event is the largest of its kind in Canada.