Raub team wins lunar challenge
TEAM Applied Kinetics from Raub, Pahang, has emerged as one of the 12 winning teams out of 166 accepted entries from across the globe in the Google Lunar XPRIZE Moonbots 2017 Challenge.
The team comprises four students from SMK Seri Raub, SMK Shahbandar, Raub and SMK (C) Chung Ching.
The Google Lunar XPRIZE Moonbots Challenge is an international robotics competition for school children between the ages of eight and 17.
Its aim is to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education awareness through three different robotics platforms, which include LEGO EV3 Mindstorms, VEX IQ and Meccano robotics kits.
Its other objective is to inspire children about future space exploration and travel.
Running parallel with Google Moonbots is the Google Lunar XPRIZE Challenge for teams to send a privately-funded lunar probe, which can land, travel and take pictures on the lunar surface, while competing for awards totaling US$40mil (RM173.6mil). The first team to achieve this goal before Dec 31 wins the top prize of US$20mil (RM86.8mil).
Only four teams are left in the running for the top prize. Two teams are from the United States and they are Moon Express and Team Synergy. Team Indus is from India and Hakuto is the team from Japan.
The Google Moonbots 2017 is in the final phase of the competition to determine the Grand Prize winning team.
This team will get to travel and meet the winner of the Google Lunar XPRIZE at their home base and this would mean a trip to the United States, New Zealand, India or Japan.
The theme for Google Moonbots 2017 is “What would you leave behind on the moon as a legacy for future generations?”
It attracted over 270 entries from teams all around the world but only 166 entries were narrowed down and officially accepted.
There were a total of seven entries from Malaysia but six were accepted; Destinoids from Kuala Terengganu, Spacebot, Eclipse, The Moon Ventures, Moonwalkers, all from Kuala Lumpur and Team Applied Kinetics from Raub.
Team Applied Kinetics comprises Heng Hei Ling, a Form Four student from SMK Shahbandar, Raub; Chen Jay Hou, also in Form Four from SMK Seri Raub; Ow Ying Tung and Ho Tian Ming, both in Form Two from SMK (C) Chung Ching, Raub.
They are led by Chen Tong Chong, the adult team captain who is also Jay Hou’s father. The team’s technical advisor is Mickey Koh Meng Fei, who previously captained the Malaysian team, Team Highlander from Tanah Rata to victory in Google Moonbots 2015.
The team’s two-minute video response to the theme was to leave behind an Internet-of-Things temperature, seismic sensors, cameras and robots on the moon. Just like planning a trip to go somewhere far, the weather conditions are among the first bits of information to be obtained about the destination. What better way than to know about the moon’s “climate” by hooking it up into the Internetof-Things where information like the lunar surface temperature can be displayed in real-time. This can greatly enhance the survival of astronauts who visit the moon in the future.
These physical objects such as temperature sensors and cameras are, no doubt, very useful but more importantly, these are symbolic of the teamwork, scientific knowledge, good project and safety management, sacrifice, innovation, family and national support that the people involved in space projects must put in to accomplish their missions.
These tangible and intangible items are what Team Applied Kinetics explained must be left behind to teach future generations.
Following Team Applied Kinetics Google Moonbots 2017’s victory, the team organised a robotics roadshow covering the schools not just in Raub district but also to a school in Kuala Lipis.
The schools visited were SMK Shahbandar, SMK Seri Raub, SMK (C) Chung Ching (all in Raub) and SK Wan Ibrahim (in Kuala Lipis). A robotics open house was held in Raub and students from both primary and secondary schools turned up. The team visited the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to find out how Internet-of-Things is being promoted in Malaysia.