Department News
'Creative Engineering Design' RoboCon Competition Nurturing the Next Generation of Robotics Talent
Author
김민아
Date
2025-01-16
Views
19
'Creative Engineering Design' RoboCon Competition Nurturing the Next Generation of Robotics Talent
- A signature creative education program at SNU, where freshmen build robots and compete as teams
- 2024 Champion Team “Assembly King” secures a spot in the International RoboCon Competition
▲ The 32nd RoboCon competition held at the Haedong Advanced Engineering Center, SNU
Seoul National University College of Engineering recently hosted the 32nd RoboCon competition at the Haedong Advanced Engineering Center, which was attended by students of ‘Creative Engineering Design,’ a robot-building project class in the mechanical engineering department.
“Creative Engineering Design,” also known as ‘Chang-Gong’, was first introduced in 1993 by the late Professor Jongnam Joo of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The course was designed to help freshmen develop their engineering skills by building robots while fostering collaboration and competition.Students have the opportunity to design a robot that completes a mission, bring it to life, realize their creative ideas, and develop problem-solving skills. With a history and tradition comparable to that of the world's top universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University, it is one of Seoul National University's signature creative education program.
The effort to constantly incorporate technological advancements into the curriculum, with new topics and robot parts being taught every semester, is one of the reasons why Creative Engineering Design has become a tradition at Seoul National University. Since last year, the program has been divided into two semesters: Creative Engineering Design 1, where students learn the basics of computer application design and software, and Creative Engineering Design 2, where students learn more about robot hardware, motor control, and basic circuits and build actual robots.
And the 'Robocon' competition, an icon of 'Creative Engineering Design', is a competition in which all students compete in teams with robots built in class. Freshmen students, who have learned the principles of mechanical operation and design in lectures and labs, compete in the competition by building a robot to fulfill a mission that fits a given task every year, such as the flood recovery of Gwanak Campus. The first-place team gets a chance to compete on the world stage by qualifying for the International Robocon competition, which includes Tokyo Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the National University of Singapore.
▲ Students participate in the Robocon competition by controlling a multi-degree-of-freedom teleoperation robotic arm, which was introduced to the Creative Engineering Design class this year.
Students in this year's class, which was the first to introduce a “multi-degree-of-freedom teleoperation robot arm,” presented different shapes and functions using the same motor at the 32nd annual Robocon competition on Nov. 29, 2024. The 60 participants focused on adding novel ideas to the basic equipment to create more delicate arms and more maneuverable torsos. This year's theme was “Black and White Chef,” with two teams competing in a mission to create and serve a given dish. After a fierce competition in which the chef robots had to carry ingredients, navigate obstacles, and perform serving tasks, the “Assembly King” team, consisting of five students from the Class of 2024, took home the title.
▲ Members of the 2024 RoboCon-winning team “Assembly King.” (Top row, left to right) Students Jae Won Jeong, Minsu Choi, Dohyeon Lim, Taeyoung Kwon, and Minjun Kim.
Jae Won Jeong, the team leader, reflected on the challenging preparation process, saying, “I realized for the first time during this competition that I could survive 72 hours without sleep.” He added, “Early in the competition, we made a rookie mistake of not organizing the wires, which forced us to rebuild the robot from scratch. However, that experience helped us stay calm in similar situations, which ultimately became the key to our victory.”
Teammate Dohyeon Lim shared, “For an entire semester, I spent every waking moment thinking about how to improve our robot. It was a joyful and fulfilling time. I hope to pursue a career in robotics, which naturally draws my full attention and passion.”
Jong Hwan Yun, a participant from the team “Yook-Ha-Ha-Ha,” commented, “Initially, I joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering for job stability, but taking this course inspired me to take on greater challenges in the future.”
Professor Howon Lee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering explained, “At least three professors in our department are former Robocon winners, which shows how actively participating in this program can lead students to grow into outstanding engineers. We plan to continue fostering the next generation of bold and innovative engineers through new initiatives each year.”
[Reference Materials]
The full recording of the 32nd RoboCon Competition : https://www.youtube.com/live/3DeRS-AGgY8
[Contact Information]
Professor Kyu-Jin Cho, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University / +82-2-880-1703 / kjcho@snu.ac.kr
- A signature creative education program at SNU, where freshmen build robots and compete as teams
- 2024 Champion Team “Assembly King” secures a spot in the International RoboCon Competition
▲ The 32nd RoboCon competition held at the Haedong Advanced Engineering Center, SNU
Seoul National University College of Engineering recently hosted the 32nd RoboCon competition at the Haedong Advanced Engineering Center, which was attended by students of ‘Creative Engineering Design,’ a robot-building project class in the mechanical engineering department.
“Creative Engineering Design,” also known as ‘Chang-Gong’, was first introduced in 1993 by the late Professor Jongnam Joo of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The course was designed to help freshmen develop their engineering skills by building robots while fostering collaboration and competition.Students have the opportunity to design a robot that completes a mission, bring it to life, realize their creative ideas, and develop problem-solving skills. With a history and tradition comparable to that of the world's top universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University, it is one of Seoul National University's signature creative education program.
The effort to constantly incorporate technological advancements into the curriculum, with new topics and robot parts being taught every semester, is one of the reasons why Creative Engineering Design has become a tradition at Seoul National University. Since last year, the program has been divided into two semesters: Creative Engineering Design 1, where students learn the basics of computer application design and software, and Creative Engineering Design 2, where students learn more about robot hardware, motor control, and basic circuits and build actual robots.
And the 'Robocon' competition, an icon of 'Creative Engineering Design', is a competition in which all students compete in teams with robots built in class. Freshmen students, who have learned the principles of mechanical operation and design in lectures and labs, compete in the competition by building a robot to fulfill a mission that fits a given task every year, such as the flood recovery of Gwanak Campus. The first-place team gets a chance to compete on the world stage by qualifying for the International Robocon competition, which includes Tokyo Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the National University of Singapore.
▲ Students participate in the Robocon competition by controlling a multi-degree-of-freedom teleoperation robotic arm, which was introduced to the Creative Engineering Design class this year.
Students in this year's class, which was the first to introduce a “multi-degree-of-freedom teleoperation robot arm,” presented different shapes and functions using the same motor at the 32nd annual Robocon competition on Nov. 29, 2024. The 60 participants focused on adding novel ideas to the basic equipment to create more delicate arms and more maneuverable torsos. This year's theme was “Black and White Chef,” with two teams competing in a mission to create and serve a given dish. After a fierce competition in which the chef robots had to carry ingredients, navigate obstacles, and perform serving tasks, the “Assembly King” team, consisting of five students from the Class of 2024, took home the title.
▲ Members of the 2024 RoboCon-winning team “Assembly King.” (Top row, left to right) Students Jae Won Jeong, Minsu Choi, Dohyeon Lim, Taeyoung Kwon, and Minjun Kim.
Jae Won Jeong, the team leader, reflected on the challenging preparation process, saying, “I realized for the first time during this competition that I could survive 72 hours without sleep.” He added, “Early in the competition, we made a rookie mistake of not organizing the wires, which forced us to rebuild the robot from scratch. However, that experience helped us stay calm in similar situations, which ultimately became the key to our victory.”
Teammate Dohyeon Lim shared, “For an entire semester, I spent every waking moment thinking about how to improve our robot. It was a joyful and fulfilling time. I hope to pursue a career in robotics, which naturally draws my full attention and passion.”
Jong Hwan Yun, a participant from the team “Yook-Ha-Ha-Ha,” commented, “Initially, I joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering for job stability, but taking this course inspired me to take on greater challenges in the future.”
Professor Howon Lee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering explained, “At least three professors in our department are former Robocon winners, which shows how actively participating in this program can lead students to grow into outstanding engineers. We plan to continue fostering the next generation of bold and innovative engineers through new initiatives each year.”
[Reference Materials]
The full recording of the 32nd RoboCon Competition : https://www.youtube.com/live/3DeRS-AGgY8
[Contact Information]
Professor Kyu-Jin Cho, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University / +82-2-880-1703 / kjcho@snu.ac.kr
