A New Era
This year was a monumental one for us.
For years, there was a lack of interest from JC students that wish to pursue robotics as a CCA. Most JC robotics members were from the HS Robotics Club and they were few in numbers, which was insufficient to justify a formal partnership between JC and HS.
RoboCup 2018 was the first competition in which we officially integrated the JC and HS robotics sections and had everyone working in the robotics lab together, combining our inventory and expertise. We also welcomed our largest number of new members from JC, with 6 joining our 2 existing members (including our first-ever female member!)
With spirits running high entering our 10th consecutive RoboCup, we set out with the goal of achieving a podium sweep in all 3 categories and punching our ticket to represent Team Singapore at RoboCup Canada.
Soccer Lightweight
Lightweight was initially meant as an experiment of sorts.
We decided to send a team of 3 Secondary 2s mentored by Kai Cong (who was then a Sec 3 student and was also the team leader for his soccer open team) with the aim of training them in the fundamentals of robot soccer so that they would have an easier transition into soccer open in the following year.
Much to our surprise, Team Thicc Wires defied all expectations and emerged victorious in a thrilling 15-14 finals match against the team from Nanyang Girls with a robot powered by LEGO medium motors.
Soccer Open
With soccer open being our ‘signature event’, we sent 2 HS teams and 1 JC team to participate in it.
This was the year where the SG RoboCup committee made the switch from an IR-emitting ball to a passive orange ball, which meant that it became necessary to utilise a camera to detect and track the ball.
Unfortunately despite our best efforts, we came up short and lost out on the championship title to Nanyang Girls, with Team Copper Pipes and Burning Gears finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Rescue Line
This year marked the first time where we participated in Rescue Line. We sent 2 teams fully made up of JC members, with only 2 months for them to prepare.
Inspite of our limited experience in this category, Team Chicken McNuggets narrowly beat out the team from NJC to finish first among all local teams, earning them the opportunity to represent Singapore at RoboCup Canada.
Closing remarks
While we fell just short of achieving a podium sweep in all 3 categories, we were immensely proud of our achievements. This was our club’s best showing yet and the upcoming RoboCup Canada will be the first international RoboCup that we will be participating in since winning Soccer Open way back in 2011.
On top of that, we also claimed the Best Achievement Award due to a series of strong performances in all categories, breaking RI’s stranglehold on the award.
The future has never looked brighter for Hwa Chong Robotics.
Final awards tally:
- Soccer Lightweight Champions (Thicc Wires)
- Rescue Line Champions (Chicken McNuggets)
- Soccer Open 2nd (Copper Pipes)
- Soccer Open 3rd (Burning Gears)
- Best Achievement Award (2018)
- Outstanding Contribution Award (10 years of participation in RoboCup SG, 2009-2018)
