HKUST Sweeps Four Awards Again in Robocon Hong Kong Contest
Two teams of undergraduate students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) School of Engineering (SENG) altogether sweep four out of six awards in the Robocon 2012 Hong Kong Contest held in Cyberport yesterday. The awards include the Championship, Best Engineering Award, and the Best Artistic Design Award won by the team “War Dragon”; and First Runner-up won by the team “Fiery Dragon”. This is the second time that HKUST students win four awards (the first time in 2005) since the inception of the contest in 2004. HKUST is also the only university that received as many as four awards in a year so far. HKUST has once again achieved the best ever result of any single university in a year since the launch of the contest.
The Champion team and the best team of another university will represent Hong Kong to compete in the ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest this August. This year, Hong Kong will be the host of the international contest, which will draw winning teams from 17 countries and regions.
The theme of this year is “Peng On Dai Gat - In Pursuit of Peace and Prosperity”. The game was designed by combining the geographic characteristics of Hong Kong and the traditional festival of its little island Cheung Chau. In the game, students had to direct robots to cross Bridges and Tunnels, land the Island, climb the Bun Tower, snatch the lucky Buns and achieve “Peng On Dai Gat” (平安大吉).
A total of eight teams from five higher education institutions participated. Forty-five HKUST engineering students formed into two teams, “War Dragon” and “Fiery Dragon”, to take part in the contest. The students come from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as Computer Engineering Program. They are supervised by Prof Tim Woo, Director of Global and Community Engagement Program, from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering.
HKUST’s “War Dragon” and “Fiery Dragon” were the only two teams which were able to complete all the required tasks to achieve “Peng On Dai Gat”. “War Dragon” even achieved this perfect result in each of the four games they played. The robots designed by HKUST students were equipped with three wheels, a distinct advantage over other teams which uses four wheels. With one wheel less, the robots enjoy higher flexibility, stability and speed.
An inter-institutional contest for higher education students, the Robocon Hong Kong Contest encourages the design and construction of robots. The contest was organized by Radio Television Hong Kong and co-organized by Hong Kong Computer Society, The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).
Related Link:
