RoboMaster@1st Inno Show

Supervisor: Dr. Kenneth Wong (Department of Computer Science)
Host department: Department of Computer Science

Project background

In this project, students will learn AI and robot related technical disciplines such as machine vision, embedded system design, mechanical control, through designing and building intelligent robots. Students will also form a team representing HKU to participate in the RoboMaster Robotics Competition hosted by DJI and compete against other teams from all over the world.

Project details and process

In September 2018, the HKU RoboMaster Team started their promotion and recruitment of new members. Training sessions for the CS, EE and ME subgroups were organized, and eventually 36 members were selected to join the Team. Starting from November 2018, the Team started designing their robots according to the rules of the RoboMaster Robotics Competition, and they completed their technical proposal in February 2019. Between March and June 2019, the EE and ME subgroups of the Team started building the hardware of their robots, whereas the CS subgroup worked on the control software and machine vision algorithm for auto-targeting. In April 2019, the Team joined the trial match held in Shenzhen with 5 completed robots. Besides, the Team participated in the InnoShow in April and showcased 3 of their robots to the public. By the end of July 2019, the Team successfully built 7 robots, including 1 Hero robot, 1 Engineer robot, 3 Standard Robot, 1 Sentry robot and 1 Aerial robot, and participated in the RoboMaster 2019 International Region Competition held in Shenzhen in August 2019.

Project result

In April 2019, the Team joined the trial match held in Shenzhen with 5 completed robots. Besides, the Team participated in the InnoShow in April and showcased 3 of their robots to the public. By the end of July 2019, the Team successfully built 7 robots according to the rules of RoboMaster Robotics Competition. They participated in the RoboMaster 2019 International Region Competition held in Shenzhen in August 2019, and got the 3rd Prize and the Outstanding Aesthetic Design Award. Any Kong (experiential learning officer) got the Outstanding Advisor Award.

Student learning and achievements

Through this project, students acquired knowledge in robot related technical disciplines, including machine vision, embedded system design, mechanical control, etc. They successfully applied their engineering knowledge to design and build intelligent robots for specific purposes. Besides, they were able to acquire self-learning and problem solving skills, which enable them to overcome unforeseen problems, make informed decisions and work under constraints of limited time, human and financial resources. Through discussions and collaboration between peers from different disciplines, students learnt how to communicate with peers with different backgrounds effectively, and how to be a good team player.

Future plan

The HKU RoboMaster Team will start recruiting new members again in Sep 2019. 10 of the existing members will stay in the Team to pass on their knowledge and provide training to the new team members. With their experience gained in the past year, we hope that the Team can achieve better performance in the RoboMaster 2020 competition.

Sharing

In the past year, the team members had worked very hard to complete the design and building of their robots. Due to the limitation of available space, the Team had experienced great difficulties in test driving their robots. In particular, since drone flying is not allowed within the campus, the Team had to ship their Aerial robot to Shenzhen for tuning and test flying. This greatly limited their training and testing time with the Aerial robot. Despite all the difficulties they encountered, the Team had successfully built 7 robots and joined the competition with a full team of robots. With their technical knowledge and experience acquired this year, I am sure they can do even better in the coming competition in 2020.

WHAT IS THE TOPIC OF THE PROJECT ?

Develop robots to participate in the RoboMaster 2019 Robotics Competition (https://www.robomaster.com) hosted by DJI.

WHAT DO STUDENTS DO IN THE PROJECT?

Students will design and develop different types of robots that can launch projectiles in a complex battlefield. The robots are required to cooperate with each other and work together to attack the base of the opponent and at the same time protect their own base. Students will form a team to participate in the RoboMaster 2019 Robotics Competition and compete against other teams from all over the world using their self-build robots.

WHAT WILL STUDENTS LEARN?

Students will learn robot related technical disciplines including machine vision, embedded system design, mechanical control, inertial navigation, human-computer interaction, etc. They will also learn how to become a good team player.

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT TO STUDENT LEARNING?

Students will have hands-on experience in building robots that requires comprehensive application of their engineering knowledge. They will be able to acquire self-learning skill and problem solving skill, and value the importance of teamwork.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THIS PROJECT?

Students are required to build their robots from scratch. They need to self-learn all the robot related technical disciplines. Students from the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science sub-groups need to understand the design constraints of the other sub-groups and cooperate with each other to work out feasible solutions.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PROJECT?

A good project should allow students to apply their knowledge as well as their creativity, and provide opportunity for them to acquire new knowledge as well as reinforce previously acquired knowledge.

“I was very intrigued by the opportunity of making robots. Gaining hands on experience is great, but interacting at a deeper level with geeks is perhaps even more enriching :-D”

Joyce X. X. Wang, project manager, Robomaster 2019

“I joined this team as a freshman uncertain and confused. But now, I feel grateful of this choice, because in here, not only did I acquire precious experience of robotics, but also make treasured friendship with my teammates. I’d say this team, or this competition inspires me of some of my future direction that I want to keep pursuing.”

Leo Y. C. Liu, group leader of the fighter group, Robomaster 2019

“In 2018-2019 RoboMaster, I have learned a lot on programming matters for examples real-time operating system, etc. and I meet wonderful people in RoboMaster team which help me learn better in engine course in year 1. Also, RoboMaster provides me a chance that I could apply my learning in real-life problems.”

Macro Z. Y. Mak, software developer, Robomaster 2019

“I feel like a part of a warm family though I involved in this team in the first semester. In 2019 RoboMaster, my core role transfer from technology development to management. My communication and presentation skills developed.”

Z. Q. Huang, captain during the year of 2018, Robomaster 2018

“In 18/19 RoboMaster, my engineering skills and innovative thinking have strengthened a lot. This competition is exactly a reality video game. Any crazy ideas can become true, such as car moving horizontal and the mushroom in Mario Cart.”

Hostin Kuo, hardware developer, Robomaster 2019

“During my time in RoboMaster, I have learned a lot on not only technical skills on how to develop a robot but also skills on how to interact with people. The most satisfying experience of all is to implement to the power management system to allow the car to get extra power when needed for slope climbing or acceleration.”

Feng Yip, hardware developer

“The competition gave an opportunity to have a glimpse of the industry-level developing procedure and a chance to get involved in real software development. In the RoboMaster, for the first time, I got to know about the function pointers and practiced OOP skills in language C. Also, for the first time I started to utilize the Git to manage a huge project with tens of thousands of codes. The experience in the team is somehow like an internship but with more motivations and a stronger sense of achievement afterward. I do enjoy the year and cherish the knowledge and practice the team has offered me.”

David Y. H. Liu, software developer

“It is a year of growth for me both academically and practically. Such competition exposes my vulnerability when facing pressure and give me a chance to adopt a more positive attitude toward it.”

Eric S. R. Chen, group leader of the aerial robot group, Robomaster 2019

“Despite my major in Computer Engineering, I still have been able to have a taste of the mechanical designing thanks to the team. I have learned how to use Solidworks to construct models, how to simulate the motions and how to assemble components together. It broadens my horizons and offers me more knowledge than what I can gain within the classrooms.”

Rex J. L. Li, mechanical designer, Robomaster 2019

“In the year, I mainly focus on the computer vision area. The experience greatly enhanced my abilities in coding and algorithm analyzing. It motivates me to touch some of the frontiers of scientific research. I am convinced that the team has enabled me for the upcoming challenges in the future study.”

B. R. Dong, group leader of computer vision group, Robomaster 2019

“The biggest takeaway here is you will never be able to experience anything like Robomaster elsewhere. It’s exhilarating complexity and intensity kept us on our feet throughout the season. I appreciate what we have achieved because of how much we have grown together as a team.”

Sean Chok, mechanical designer, Robomaster 2019

“In this year’s RoboMaster career, I learned some of the common knowledge of mechanical design, mastered assembly skills, for future participation in the robot project has accumulated considerable experience, training engineers. During the year, especially during the two trips to Shenzhen, I had an updated understanding of how the team worked together.”

Edwin, mechanical designer, Robomaster 2019