Bengkel Robocon 2019/2020

In November 2019, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Robocon hosted the Infra-Red Sensor Line Following Autocar competition at UTM Skudai campus. The event was opened to students from UTM with various backgrounds ranging from but not limited to mechanical engineering, electronics, computer science and programming.

Briefing Seminar

The kickoff of the competition began with a briefing seminar where contestants were introduced to the UTM Robocon team and the objective of the competition. The participants were taken through the various components of an autocar including the chassis, tyres, sensor, integrated circuits and batteries. They were also informed of the need to select the appropriate hardware components depending on the budget and required speed of the vehicle. Participants were also taught basic programming skills such as looping and line following algorithm to ensure that their autocar will have the necessary speed and accuracy when negotiating the race track.

Mentor-Mentee Process

The mentor-mentee process was an integral part of the competition. The mentors had the responsibility to guide the participants on the design and construction of their autocar. Their main job was to ensure that the participants followed the competition rules and that their autocar utilized the correct type of basic electronics components. The mentors also briefed the participants on the racetrack layout, allowing the contestants to familiarize themselves with the environment.

Quiz

The competition also featured a quiz session where participants had to answer questions about the underlying principles and components of autocar. Questions were asked regarding the various types of sensors utilized in autocar, the operation of the chassis, the design of the electronic circuits and the types of integrated circuits used. The participants had to answer the questions correctly because marks are given in this process.

Competition

The competition consisted of an autonomous race between each individual’s autocar. The participants had to ensure that their robots had error-free manoeuvring skills, above average speed and good accuracy when negotiating the racetrack. The robots with the highest score (shortest time taken to complete the route) after the qualifying round were qualified to go on to the final round. The individual with the most points was declared the winner.

The Infra Red Sensor Line Following Autocar competition was a great success with participants  from all of UTM joining and displaying their robotics skills and knowledge. The competition allowed students to showcase their technical skills, gain exposure to robotics, and develop fast learning skills.

My experience of joining the infra-red sensor line following autocar competition organized by UTM ROBOCON was very interesting and educational. The competition required us to build an automated car that could follow a path marked by a line using infrared sensors.

In order to complete the project, I had to learn how to solder electronic components onto a donut board. It was quite a challenge as I had never done this before, but with the help of my mentor, I am able to learn how to do it quite quickly and correctly. I also had to learn how to program the car using C++ in MPLAB. This was quite an interesting task, especially since I had not had much experience in programming prior to the competition.

Finally, I had to build the car using the infrared sensors. It involved quite a bit of fabrication and manual labour, including figuring out the right positions of the infrared sensors. Although it was quite challenging at times, the satisfaction of seeing the car move autonomously down the line made it all worth it.

The experience helped to create my enthusiasm for robotics and inspired me to look into the field more. Not only did I learn how to solder electronics and C++ programming, but I also had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends during the process.