HKU Engineering team clinch championship at Robocon Hong Kong Contest 2025
The HKU Robocon Virtus team from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has claimed the top prize at this year's "Robocon Hong Kong Contest 2025". As champions, they will represent Hong Kong at the upcoming "ABU Robocon 2025" in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this August. Additionally, Team Sapientia secured the third-place, demonstrating HKU's strong performance in the competition.
Organised by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Hong Kong Computer Society, and Radio Television Hong Kong, the contest featured 13 teams of over 200 students from eight local higher education institutions. Centred on the theme "Robot Basketball" and the slogan "Team Effort, Ultimate Success," the competition emphasised collaboration, challenging participants to design and build basketball-playing robots using engineering and technological expertise. Each team developed two robotic players to perform complex actions like passing, dribbling, and shooting, showcasing their technical skill, innovation, and teamwork.
HKU Robocon is a student interest group of the Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing of the Faculty of Engineering. The Virtus and Sapientia teams comprise 33 students from engineering and science backgrounds. The impressive performance of both teams during the fierce competition resulted in a championship and third place, marking HKU's triumphant return to the top spot since their last victory in 2009.
Both teams unveiled their latest robotic innovations, showcasing groundbreaking designs that seamlessly blend AI with advanced robotics technology. The Virtus team's robot stands out with its novel long pneumatic cylinder design, which significantly enhances dribbling capabilities. Another standout feature is its lift mechanism, which raises the shooting apparatus to a high position, allowing the robot to execute shots immediately after catching the ball. This innovative design enables the robot to bypass opponents' defenses and increase scoring efficiency. Meanwhile, the Sapientia team's robot boasts a unique design inspired by rocket launch platform, with an appearance reminiscent of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
HKU Robocon team captain, Ka Tsun Mak, a Year-4 student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, expressed his excitement about the victory, "I am immensely proud of my team members for their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts. Their hard work and attention to detail have been crucial to our success. We strive for perfection, continuously refining our designs through practicing and tactical discussions, enabling our robots to achieve outstanding shooting accuracy and smooth operation. Special thanks go to Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing, where we are able to set up a 1:1 simulated race court on campus to fine-tune our programming based on real-world performance.
"We began conceptualizing our robots in August last year, and by October, we had completed our first prototype. After rounds of testing, we identified structural model and designs that deliver high accuracy and stable performance for shooting and ball-hitting. Early this year, we develop our strategic tactics based on the foundation and equipped each robot with different modules. This strategic approach proved highly effective against top teams, and ultimately helped us secure victory through superior tactics. We also continuously refined the mechanical design to improve the robot's ball-hitting speed, movement efficiency, and the stability and success rate of our shots." said Ka Tsun Mak.
Guided by Dr. HH Cheung, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Data and Systems Engineering, the two HKU Robocon teams showcased exceptional talent and innovation. Dr. Cheung praised their achievements, stating, "Congratulations to HKU Robocon Teams, Virtus and Sapientia, for their outstanding performances at Robocon Hong Kong Contest 2025! This marks HKU Robocon's best result since 2009. Our students' dedication, creativity, and teamwork in developing intelligent robots by designing, producing and assembling mechanical parts and electronic components, as well as integrating artificial intelligent (AI) with computer programming and robotics technologies, are truly commendable. We look forward to their continued success at ABU Robocon 2025, where they compete against top teams from the Asia-Pacific region. Their success also inspires more students to pursue excellence in technology and engineering."
About HKU Robocon: https://innowings.engg.hku.hk/robocon/
About Robocon Hong Kong Contest
The "Robocon Hong Kong Contest" is an annual innovation and technology contest organized by HKSTP, aimed at nurturing local talent, promoting engineering and IT knowledge, and advancing Hong Kong's innovative technology onto the international stage. For more details about Robocon Hong Kong Contest 2025: http://www.roboconhk.com/2025/index.html
