Nurturing Young Talents in Robotics

05 Dec 2018

A group of 70 budding young engineers dove into the intricacies and applications of robotics through hands-on challenges at the five-day Young Defence Scientists Programme (YDSP) Science and Technology Camp held from 26 to 30 November 2018.

Organised biannually by DSTA and DSO National Laboratories, the YDSP holiday camps aim to spark youth interest in the world of science and technology.

Based on the theme of robotics, the November camp introduced participants to a wide range of topics such as single and multiple-block programming, sensors and robot design. Through a series of challenges, the students applied their knowledge to solve progressively complex challenges in the hands-on exercises.

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The camp also saw Defence engineers including Senior Engineer (Land Systems) Ng Zhen Yi give participants a glimpse into the exciting applications of robotics for the Singapore Army, such as unmanned convoys for transporting logistics.

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The participants put their new skills to the test in a competition on the final day. Working within the context of a disaster relief scenario, teams raced against time to build and programme an unmanned robot to clear debris, collect materials and perform safety checks.

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Head Capability Development (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) Dominic Li, who was one of the judges, said: “I was impressed by the mastery of skills and creative thinking shown by the students, many of whom did not have prior experience in robotics. It is encouraging to see such enthusiasm from the youth in engineering.”

Drawing the camp to a close, Director Land Systems Roy Chan presented awards to the top three and most innovative teams of each level for the Integrated Programme Year 2 and 3 participants.

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For Tay Ruyi, an Integrated Programme Year 2 student from Nanyang Girls High School, the camp was a meaningful way to spend the school holidays. She said: “My first YDSP camp experience in June earlier this year taught me data analytics, which I felt would be a good skill to have. I joined this camp again because I thought the theme of robotics would be similarly relevant and useful. On top of gaining new skills, I enjoyed meeting and bonding with like-minded people and am definitely looking forward to the next one.”

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