The robotics team from the Faculty of Engineering has received the Grand Prix Award at the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) for the second time. Held online from New Delhi on 21 August, this year’s win was another testament to CUHK’s top-level robotics and innovation education.

The CUHK robotics team was selected to represent Hong Kong at the ABU Robocon after emerging champion at the Robocon 2022 Hong Kong Contest organised by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) in June. Since ABU Robocon’s inception in 2002, the team has advanced to five finals (2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022) – becoming the first Hong Kong team to lift the championship title in 2019. This year’s finals saw 13 participating teams from universities, colleges, and academies across 12 Asia-Pacific countries and territories.

As captain of the CUHK team at ABU Robocon for the fifth time, team leader and alumnus of the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering Billy Yip Chun-wa was on hand to offer his wealth of experience in guiding the team. He was overjoyed by their victory, which he attributes to the tireless efforts of each member. “Everyone in the team is so enthusiastic and passionate about robotic design and programming,” he shared. “Failure was a great motivator that drove them to go to great lengths. After evaluating their past matches and learning from their mistakes, they would rack their brains for ground-breaking ideas. Together, we worked day and night to find the best solutions for achieving our goal. Above all, we treasure the sense of understanding and friendship we developed in the process.”