Overview
Well, for those of you who have been around since the early days of robotics in Singapore, did you notice something wrong in my title?
Yes, back in 2013 to 2017, it was called the National Junior Robotics Competition (NJRC).
This was where it all started for me.
Early Days
My first competition was in 2013 when I was only 9 years old. We used LEGO Mindstorms NXT back then, learning line tracking and basic control flows using program blocks. Life was simpler then, and so were the robots. The young me that was introduced to robotics through his favourite toy: LEGO, and I was hooked ever since.
TODO: Time to dig up pictures from those days! It will take some time though…
NRC 2017
Fast forward to 2017, we had moved on to using LEGO Mindstorms EV3, which offered more advanced capabilities and sensors. Over the years, my sense in robot design improved significantly, and I started to understand the process of constructing algorithms and mechanical designs.
NRC 2018
NRC 2018 was my final year competing in the National Robotics Competitions. By this time, I had developed a strong understanding of robot design and programming. My team and I worked tirelessly to refine our robot’s performance, focusing on speed, accuracy, and reliability.
Have a peak at the Engineering Design Booklet.pdf linked above that we made years ago!
A render of the final form of our NRC 2018 robot.
Conclusion
Participating in the National Robotics Competitions from 2013 to 2018 was a transformative experience that laid solid foundations in robot design.
The most important takeaway was what I call “robotics sense” — an intuitive understanding of how to approach and solve robotics challenges effectively.
This was my origin, my beginning, my first steps into the world of robotics and engineering.