Tamkang University students prevail at ROBOlympics in US

Robots designed by students at Tamkang University's (TKU) department of electrical engineering won the championship at this year's international Robo Games -- or ROBOlympics -- in San Francisco from June 14 through last Sunday, taking two gold medals.

TKU's robots won a gold medal by gaining four first place prizes in categories including an obstacle run, penalty kick, dash and weightlifting in the "Humanoid Challenges" competition.

TKU won another gold medal in the "RoboSot" competition, in which three TKU robots competed as a team against teams from China and South Korea.

Wung Ching-chang (翁慶昌), chairman of TKU's department of electrical engineering, said the victory was the result of teamwork among 17 students participating in the Robo Games in San Francisco and another 17 who remained in Taiwan to provide technical aid.

Wung said that the "robotic designs emerged from collective creativity and technological integration."

In addition to TKU's awards, Chang Gung University won a silver medal in the basketball competition, while National Cheng Kung University took bronze in the penalty kick.

TKU's robotic design team began participating in international robot competitions in 2003.

This year's team leader, Yang Yu-ting (楊玉婷), a graduate student and the only woman on the team, said designing robots fills her with a sense of fulfillment.

Yang said that meeting other teams participating in the competitions was valuable.

David Calkins, the president of the Robotics Society of America and lecturer in robotics and computer engineering at San Francisco State University, said international robotic games encourage scientific education and allow participants to share their passion and knowledge with others.

This year's Robo Games was the largest open games in the event's history.

As many as 800 robots from more than 30 countries assembled to do battle, demonstrating the youngsters' creativity and entertaining audiences of all ages.