World Robot Olympiad 2024
Responding proactively when everything breaks is a critical engineering skill.
Mechanical Design, Technical Documentation, Algorithm Logic
3rd Place, Future Engineers Category
AeganTech Team Picture
Our original plan for the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Future Engineers category was highly ambitious. We had spent weeks designing an autonomous vehicle built around a Raspberry Pi, utilizing a camera module and OpenCV for advanced image processing to navigate the track and read traffic lights.
Then, just days before the competition, the Raspberry Pi burned out. We had no spare parts and absolutely no time to order a replacement. We had two choices: withdraw from the tournament, or completely redesign the robot from scratch with whatever we had lying around.
We chose the latter.
With the camera and Pi gone, we pivoted to a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 system. My role immediately shifted into high gear across three different fronts: mechanical design, algorithm adaptation, and writing the technical documentation to justify our last-minute architecture to the judges.
Robot Side View
We rapidly rebuilt the vehicle with the EV3 structure. Integrated two Large Motors for driving, one Medium Motor for precise steering, and integrated our new "eyes"—two Ultrasonic sensors and a Color sensor.
Since we could not "see" the track with a camera anymore, I helped develop a strict distance-based algorithm. We used side-facing ultrasonic sensors to detect traffic lights based on distance thresholds (19cm to 40cm) and programmed the vehicle to align itself parallel to the borders upon detection.
A working robot is only half the score; the engineering notebook is the rest. Despite the chaos, I documented sensor connections, mechanical structure, and movement algorithm clearly and professionally.
Robot Side View
We walked away with 3rd Place overall. It wasn't the robot we initially dreamed of, but it was the robot that worked.
Hardware fails. The ability to let go of an initial idea and rapidly build a viable alternative is the most important skill I gained from this competition.
Writing formal engineering documentation while simultaneously rebuilding a robot taught me how to focus on the deliverable, even under pressure.