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SINGAPORE : This was one time when students could go against their teachers literally but it is all part of a game.
More than 300 robots battled it out at the 15th Singapore Robotic Games at the Science Centre and those with potential will be developed for commercial use.
One game is a contest to pick which is the "stronger" robot.
Just like a real sumo match, the winner is the one that can push its opponent off the platform.
Another little robot has to stay afloat and complete the underwater course.
And within five minutes, it has to ferry as many objects from the start to the end point.
Foo Ghim Beng, Third Year Student, Temasek Polytechnic, said: "My robot has this float above the body structure, so it helps the stability of the robot, which helps us to manoeuvre and cross the obstacle in the underwater robot course. It helps the robot to move faster, to sink faster, to rise faster, and it's important because every second counts in a competition."
One pair of robots can differentiate pellets by their colour, which is what they have to do in a time of six minutes.
The robots are able to do this using bluetooth technology.
Ng Yong Seng, Lecturer, Temasek Polytechnic, said: "With this wireless communication, one of the robots will act as the master, that will start its slave, the other robot. Then they will also talk to each other, constantly, telling each other how many pellets it has collected, both the green and blue pellets. At the same time they also tell each other what they are doing at each stage of their movement."
Organisers of the Singapore Robotic Games hope to discover and develop robots that have commercial value.
These include robots which use sensors to move on its own; such robots can be used to locate missing items.
Dr Marcelo H Ang Jr, Chairman, Singapore Robotic Games, said: "In the airports for example, finding bags that are left unattended, or potential security threats, or in public places really, going around finding objects of interest. "
These games are also aimed at encouraging innovation in design among people of all ages and type.
Dr Marcelo H Ang Jr said: "Robotics is not confined to scientists, or high level, very intelligent type of people. it can be all the way down to any body, any member of the public, even the primary and secondary school level. I saw they have certain idea how to make things, how to improve, new way of doing things. They can do it themselves, you don't need to be trained mathematically and scientifically."
And generating lots of interest at the event were students and teachers who, if all else fails, had a lot of fun going at each other. - CNA/ch
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