Awe-Inspiring Robots: The 17th TDK Institutes of Higher Education Official Robot Contest Press Conference
The MOE indicated that the TDK Official Robot Contest is the most extensive and creativity-focused robot design and application contest in Taiwan. The contest has been held for many years, and it has become a platform for exchanging opinions and learning from each other for college students of engineering and science. The participants won recognition and praise in regards to the increase of robot quality and big progress in innovation and production capability year by year. The MOE also gave special thanks to the TDK Culture and Education Foundation, which aims at “training talent, serving society, and working for the industrial development of Taiwan.” In order to encourage students to develop innovative capability, the Foundation has sponsored the TDK Official Robot Contest for many years.
At the press conference, the organizer explained the contest subject, background, events and awards of this year. Three prize-winning students of the TDK 16th Institutes of Higher Education Official Robot Contest were also invited to share their competition experiences. Chen Yu-jhang (陳昱璋), a student at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (南臺科大), who won first place and Most Creative (創意獎特優) in the Automatic Group (自動組), said that people who want to participate in the TDK Official Robot Contest must understand that they need to invest a lot of time and effort to preparing for the contest. During the contest, Chen first analyzed the subject, then designed the structure and electric control equipment to complete the robot. Nan Jeon Institute of Technology (南榮技術學院) student Chiang Meng-you (姜孟佑) won first place and Most Creative (創意獎特優) in the Remote Control Group (遙控組). He studied robot design alongside upperclassmen starting from his freshman year, and even modified and adjusted the robot in the machine factory during holidays, and has continued to pass down the spirit and ideas of the upperclassmen, making big progress in specialized knowledge and techniques. Yu Yi-wei (余義緯), a student of National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (國立高雄應用科技大學), won the TDK Award (TDK獎) and Honorable Mention for Creativity (創意獎佳作) in the Remote Control Group (遙控組). Yu faced many problems while designing the robot, such as material strength, circuitry, and control. After discussing with teachers, used the knowledge gained from class and study materials, the problems were eventually overcome.
The organizer said, the topic of this year is “Awe-Inspiring Robots” (機器人大展雄風). It integrated the concept of industrial robots with service robots, which fits with the spirit of creative thinking, design, and production, and inspired students’ creative ideas to design robots with special functions. The event was divided into the Automatic Group (自動組) and the Remote Control Group (遙控組). The subject of the Automatic Group (自動組) is “Reaching New Heights” (登峰造極). The robot needed to have identification ability as well as stability. The subject of the Remote Control Group (遙控組) is “Dexterity” (神乎其技). The robot has to complete every mission by walking on its feet. In summary, in order to win the prize, each team needs to cooperate to design a robot with stability and deft locomotion, and figure out a winning strategy.
The sing-up date for this contest is from today to March 29th, 2013. The preliminaries will be held on October 12th to 13th, and the finals will be on October 14th. The TDK Culture and Education Foundation will continuously subsidize material costs and travel expenses, and the contest has set up the Creative Working Award (創意獎), Competition Award (競賽獎), TDK Award (TDK獎) and Prize for the Best Group Collaboration and Discipline (最佳工作團隊紀律獎), and offers reward money to the winning teams. Moreover, the winning teams of the Remote Control Group (遙控組) and the Automatic Group (自動組) can go to Japan to visit relevant robot contests. So the MOE and the Foundation welcome college and university students to organize a team and enthusiastically participate in the competition.
The MOE indicated that students who had participated in the competition in the past have already put their experiences and knowledge learned from these contests to use in industries, and their contributions have infused new energy into industrial development. The MOE looks forward to more teacher-led students participating in the competition, and to cultivating students’ comprehensive innovation and integration capability, and turning to a stunning new page of Taiwanese technological and industrial development. For further information regarding the event, please visit the website for National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (國立高雄應用科技大學) at http://tdk.kuas.edu.tw/, or contact Miss Chen Chun-ya (陳君雅) and Lo Hsin-i (羅心宜), Tel：（07）3814526 ext 8521、8522