9Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Underwater Robot Challenge

After two days of keen competition at the swimming pool of the

City University of Hong Kong, Team Penguin, a team formed by

Year 1 CityU EE undergraduates have won the championship in the

Hong Kong Underwater Robot Challenge on 8-9 April 2007. The

five team members are all from mainland China. A second CityU

EE team, Robonauts, also took part, but their robot flooded during

the test run and did not take part in the final contest. The two CityU

EE teams have now combined, and the new Team Penguin will

compete in the International Underwater Robot Challenge, which

will be held at the Marine Institute and the Institute for Ocean

Technology, Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, in June

2007.

The team leader, Dai Bo, was very grateful for the support from

CityU in preparation of the robot, ‘We were allowed to access many

of the facilities and equipments in the Underwater Systems

Laboratory at EE for this competition. This helped a lot. Although

there are advanced facilities in the universities in mainland China,

undergraduates are not even allowed to touch.’ The other members

of the winning team were Ke Jiangbo, Lin Jing, Tang Chengcheng,

Li Shuo and Li Boyan.

The Hong Kong Underwater Robot Challenge was started in 2006,

aiming at raising the younger generation’s interest in robotic

technology and marine conservation. Its success with secondary

school teachers, students and their parents led to its expansion to

university and college students this year. This contest was jointly

organized by the WWF Hong Kong and City University of Hong

Kong, under the leadership of Dr. Robin Bradbeer, Associate

Professor of EE.

The rules and guidelines of the contest were based on the international

competition mentioned above. In recognition of the International Polar

Year in 2007, the competition will highlight polar regions and reflect

the challenges that scientists and engineers face working there. The

Hong Kong teams carried out similar tasks such as grabbing jellyfish

substitutes under ice sheets.

Whilst Team Penguin was the only team to be given an award among

the five university/college teams, the champion, first and second

runners up of the secondary school section were HKTA Yuen Yuen

Institute No. 2 Secondary School, Kowk Tak Seng Catholic

Secondary School and The Methodist Church HK Wesley College,

respectively.

The contest started recruiting participants in December 2006. Teams

of secondary school students were given a robot kit free of charge

and CityU held workshops for most weekends in January in the Control

Laboratory/Underwater Systems Laboratory on building underwater

robots and modifying the basic design to accomplish the tasks in the

contest. College-level teams were encouraged to use the expertise

available at CityU in their designs. Technical advice to the teams

was provided by Dr Bradbeer, Alan Pun Wai Lun and Kenneth Ku

Ka Keung.

The three winning secondary school teams demonstrated their designs

at the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre on 4th May by running the

robots 4m below seawater surface and searching for fish. The

swimming robots at work were shown to the press on the glass bottom

boat.

Dr Robin Bradbeer, is the planner and technical consultant for the

competition, “I’ve been amazed by the students’ achievements in

technical knowledge, problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork

throughout the process. These are the strongest motivations for me

to keep on organizing these kinds of activities,” She is happy that this

year’s competition was successfully expanded to include university/

college students.

Professor David Tong Shuk-yin, Deputy President of CityU was very

impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants, ‘CityU is very keen

to pass technology on to the younger generation through these kinds

of interesting activities. Research and teaching are inextricably linked.

Research informs teaching, including the provision of research

opportunities so students can contribute to the development of the

community.’

According to Mr Michael Chalmers, Executive Council Member of

10

Prof. David Tong and the champion CityU team, Penguin.

The winning secondary team members and their robots at the

Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre

A running underwater robot viewed through a glass panel of

the glass-bottom boat of the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Life Centre

WWF Hong Kong, ‘It’s exciting to see these young talented scientists

testing their underwater robots in a natural marine environment and

I’m sure the exercise will further inspire their enthusiasm and creativity

in the future application of high technology for protection of our

marine environment. The future of our planet will be determined by

the young generation and I look forward to seeing the increasing

application of advanced technology to marine conservation

programmes.’

Robin Bradbeer

Dr Robin Bradbeer was examining

and commenting the design of one

of the competing underwater

robots

The champion CityU team, Penguin, was deploying their robot

into the water.

One of the awarded secondary school team was maneuvering

their robot.