'Olympic-style' robotics competition hosted by Singapore a springboard for growth, says organiser

SINGAPORE: An international robotics competition that kicked off in Singapore on Saturday (Oct 7) has been a “springboard” for the growth of robotics in some participating countries, said its organiser.

Held until Oct 10, the annual robotics event organised by US-based non-profit group FIRST Global will bring together thousands of students from 191 countries to compete in a contest that highlights the importance of renewable energy and its potential to create a better future for all.

“We are excited to bring the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge to Singapore, a country at the forefront of innovation and sustainability,” the group’s founder Dean Kamen previously said in a press release.

“(Singapore) exemplifies the importance of increased investments in renewable energy technologies to improve the health of our planet and ensure a cleaner and more equitable energy future.”

This year’s competition also marks the first time the contest is in Southeast Asia. Previous editions of the challenge were held in Washington DC in 2017, Mexico City in 2018, Dubai in 2019 and Geneva in 2022 – the 2020 and 2021 competitions were conducted virtually. 

Since the first edition in 2017, the FIRST Global Challenge has helped to spread science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM education around the world, said Mr Matt Stalford, FIRST Global’s communications manager. 

Citing the example of Kazakhstan, Mr Stalford told CNA that the competition has been a “springboard for the rapid growth of robotics” in the country.  

Kazakhstan participated in the inaugural challenge in 2017 with a small group of students who had previous robotics experience.

“Just five years later, they went on to host the then-largest national robotics competition in Kazakhstan to select their FIRST Global team,” said Mr Stalford, adding that more than 10,000 students – including 3,000 girls – took part in the selection process. 

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Mr Stalford, highlighting that other countries have also held similar national competition initiatives for robotics.

This includes Bolivia, which held a national tournament to select youths to represent the South American country this year. More than 3,000 students from nine regions participated, with regional competitions held in various cities followed by a national final where winners were chosen to be part of the FIRST Global team.

BUILDING ROBOTS TO PRODUCE HYDROGEN

Similar to the previous editions, this year’s theme is centred around “an issue of global importance”, namely hydrogen. Participating teams are tasked with building a robot and navigating it through a simulated environment to produce hydrogen and then store, transport and convert energy.

During the competition, teams will work together in randomly selected multi-country alliances to score points, a practice that encourages global cooperation and fosters mutual understanding, said FIRST Global.

“This year's theme of Hydrogen Horizons was selected to help students learn about the role hydrogen technologies can play in our energy future, as well as to consider the broader challenges related to global energy access,” said Mr Stalford. 

Hydrogen has the highest energy content by weight of any fuel and can be stored and transported as a liquid or a gas, which means that it can be more easily distributed on a mass scale. “Green hydrogen” energy can also be produced without adding carbon to the atmosphere. 

The US Energy Information Administration predicts that global electricity demand will hit 45 trillion KWh by 2050, which is almost 20 trillion kWh more than the world produced in 2018. 

“That means we need to make more energy and this energy must be globally accessible. Hydrogen holds promise as a technology for addressing this crucial dynamic,” Mr Stalford said. 

The FIRST Global teams will also participate in another component of the competition known as The New Technology Experience. The segment was established in 2021 as a means for the students to stay up-to-date with cutting-edge technology.

This year, under the theme of Energy Evolution, participating teams will learn about all types of renewable energy, including hydrogen technologies, and the steps to create a clean energy future.

The teams will have to research and develop their own innovative solutions to advance the implementation of and improve access to renewable energy.

ACS (I) TEAM TO COMPETE

Singapore will be represented by a team of five from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)'s Robotics Technology Society.

ACS (I), which has represented the country in every edition of the FIRST Global Challenge since 2017, is also the organiser’s in-country partner, said Mr Stalford.

Each FIRST Global team's selection process is administered by the in-country partner, who is responsible for assembling and managing the national team. 

“FIRST Global encourages partners to select members that have a passion for, and are committed to, working together to help spread STEM education throughout the world, as well as inclusive representation of the national population and engaging new students each year,” he said.

On how winners are chosen, Mr Stalford said that there are 23 different awards teams can win, with the criteria being different for each.

This includes the Albert Einstein Award for FIRST Global International Excellence – the most prestigious team award – which is given to groups whose robots performed the best during the robotics challenge and exemplified all the tenets of the FIRST Global community.

The judges come from a pool of volunteers who collectively have decades of experience officiating FIRST Global competitions, said Mr Stalford. 

While the awards do not typically carry additional prizes beyond the medals and ribbons that winning teams receive, Temasek Corporation will give an additional prize to the three winners of the Temasek Women in STEM Award in this year’s competition. 

The three winning FIRST Global teams will each receive US$1,000, 50 Experiential Robotics Platforms, as well as supporting curriculum, technical documentation and tutorials, which will help recipients conduct outreach activities to young women in their communities.