Claiming 14 Awards in First Participation

HKUST Robotics Team Thrived at Asian Intelligent Robot Contest 2025 in Taiwan

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In June 2025, the HKUST Robotics Team made its first participation in the 36th Asian Intelligent Robot Contest (AERC) in Taiwan, represented by its Intelligence Racing (IR) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sub-teams. Established in 1989, AERC is a premier platform for robotics, attracting students from primary school to university level across Asia.

The two sub-teams earned a total of 14 awards:

Intelligence Racing sub-team:

  • 1st Place in Forklift
  • 2nd Place in Sumo
  • 7 Honorable Mentions across various missions


Unmanned Aerial Vehicle sub-team:

  • 6th Place in manual racing
  • 4 Honorable Mentions


The Intelligence Racing sub-team competed at National Chin-Yi University of Technology in Taichung, while the UAV sub-team participated at Ta Hwa University of Science and Technology in Hsinchu County.

The Intelligence Racing sub-team, comprising 20 students specializing in software, hardware, and mechanics, invested months in designing and refining robots for classic tasks like sumo, forklift, and others. They employed very creative solutions and design, tackling challenges such as optimizing robot stability for sumo’s intense pushing matches and ensuring precise load handling for forklift’s complex transport tasks. Through iterative testing and interdisciplinary collaboration, the team integrated advanced software algorithms, robust hardware systems, and innovative mechanical designs to enhance performance. Their efforts enabled them to excel against more than 40 university teams.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle sub-team showcased their drone expertise. The sub-team was divided into five groups: two single-pilot manual teams, two pilot-assistant manual teams, and one autonomous team, in total consisting of nine members. These five teams competed against 41 manual teams and 21 autonomous teams. The manual teams honed their skills for months by continuously speeding up their task completion times. Meanwhile, the autonomous team overcame challenges with a creative hybrid solution of AprilTags and manual coding that impressed the judges.

The HKUST Robotics Team celebrates the teams’ achievements and extends their heartfelt gratitude to the mentors, sponsors, and community for their vital support in this endeavor.

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The line following robot
The line following robot
Manually controlling robots in forklift
Manually controlling robots in forklift
Setting up the dodger robot, which needs to dodge the obstacles automatically and reach the end point in the shortest time.
Setting up the dodger robot, which needs to dodge the obstacles automatically and reach the end point in the shortest time.
The UAV team at the Hong Kong International Airport
The UAV team at the Hong Kong International Airport
UAV team members were welcomed by the event organizer.
UAV team members were welcomed by the event organizer.
Obstacle course for manual and autonomous racing
Obstacle course for manual and autonomous racing
The UAV autonomous team showed their tags to the judges.
The UAV autonomous team showed their tags to the judges.
Ta Hwa University of Science and Technology showcased their robots to the UAV team members.
Ta Hwa University of Science and Technology showcased their robots to the UAV team members.
Recognition
Award
Competition
Robotics
Undergraduate
STEM Education
Share