A Different International Robot Competition——International Division of Jiangsu Kunshan Senior High School.
On May 16, the RoboRAVE International Global Competition for 2017 was completed in Colombia, South America. Seven students from the international division of our school, including Longyu CHEN, Yuncheng LU, Bowen YAO, Jiaye LIN, Ji QI, Zhiwen WANG and Junxian ZHU, represented China in this global competition due to their excellent performance in the Asian competition. After a fierce competition, Longyu CHEN, Yuncheng LU and Bowen YAO placed seventh out of thirty eight groups. Congratulations to all competition participants!
Although it was only 8am Beijing time, we arrived in Medellin, Columbia, the host city for the 2017 RoboRAVE International Finals, at dusk local time.
Medellin is located in South America where Chinese traditional culture is seen as modest and reserved, while Latin culture is the symbol of enthusiasm and freedom. We made friends with competitors form different countries, chatted, took photos, exchanged gifts, attended a party and danced with cheerful French girls. During the four days, we not only learned more about the different cultures, but also enhanced our confidence. It was an important process to discover ourselves and understand others.
We always hope to cultivate talents with international views but these views cannot be found in the classroom. They must be cultivated gradually through cultural communication and this is the real meaning of the RoboRAVE competition.
Durando Eternal Sword Group
The competition did not begin smoothly, with only two members of the group initially departing while the other two members struggled with visa problems. Although we were the Asian champions, the pressure was great leading up to the global competition. Luckily, Yuncheng LU was able to rejoin the team the day prior to the competition and this encouraged us and improved our confidence levels.
The competition included thirty eight groups from different countries and each team was given ten opportunities over a set time frame to reach the final stage of the competition. With one hour remaining, most groups had already finished their practice rounds. However, we only had four attempts left to gain entry and one of our immediate rivals had achieved full marks in all five attempts. This meant we had to receive full marks in our next round to gain entry into the next round and this is what we did, winning the knockout stage through close cooperation and teamwork. Although we only achieved seventh place overall due to a minor mistake, we were thankful for the chance to grow during the competition and this was more important than any award.
4*4 Group
Our robot suffered greatly during the thirty hour flight so our time prior to the competition was spent on system modification and structural adjustments. Luckily, we found a mechanical error at the last minute, which forced us to redesign and assemble our robot and this attention to detail was noted by other competitors.
Finally, our robot was ready to fight and performed well in all tasks, but due to some minor mistakes, we failed to reach the finals. However, we now realise that teamwork and problem solving are the most important skills in competition.
We also had a chance to walk around New York City, traveling by subway and attending a lecture at New York University. Surprisingly, we were able to understand the content of the class, although the professor spoke a little fast. Wall Street, the Medellin science and Technology Museum and the New York Empire State Building all left us with a deep impression.
The enthusiasm of our new friends was infectious. Not only did we dance with romantic French girls, but we participated in a creative photography competition with an intelligent Columbian girl. When our photo appeared on the screen, we realized to our amazement that we had won a $100 prize.
We realize now that RoboRAVE was not only a competition but also a chance to learn and think about different cultures and technology and to communicate with others. The cultural communication and collision of ideas were the most valuable aspects and we hope to have further opportunities to participate in such competitions.