I was delighted to welcome Grade 12 student Hinako Nishi, a former Senior Robotics student, to present her wonderful summer experience at HKU to our current Robotics team last week. Her time in our Senior Robotics program last year inspired her to tackle real world problems by using design principles and 3D computer aided design (CAD). Please see Hinako's comments and FIRST Robotics team leader Peter's comments below.

Mr. Sunny Ma, Senior Robotics Team Director

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Hinako, G12

This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern at a robotics lab at HKU for 6 weeks, which was a direct result of my experience in Senior Robotics last year. During this internship, I designed a robotic gripper capable of picking up and folding clothing, whilst also learning essential principles of mechanical design, CAD, and other fascinating concepts. What truly inspired me was seeing how cutting-edge research is conducted and how researchers collaborate to tackle complex, real-world problems. My experience last year in Elsa FIRST Robotics was invaluable: where I gained practical hardware skills and a problem-solving mindset that proved essential during my internship. I hope my experience has inspired the robotics students in some way, and I encourage the students in the program this year to take full advantage of the opportunities they have to explore, create, and innovate in the upcoming season!

Peter, G10

Robotics and Engineering is all about solving problems. However solving these problems can require intricate contraptions and designs. Last year, while manufacturing the robot, due to a lack of precise planning, we had to always go back and fix mistakes. I was excited to see how Computer-Aided Design, or CAD would allow us to accurately design our robot for the upcoming season.

My key takeaways from this presentation were opportunities that can be found in STEM. As a robotics student, what we do in robotics is very applicable to the professional world. Engineers use CAD on a daily basis, and one of the ways we can grasp a deep understanding of CAD is by being exposed to real-world usage of CAD. In order to apply and develop the knowledge gained in robotics. It is critical to search for opportunities within the professional STEM world such as internships, in order to further improve these skills. 

Overall, I feel much more confident in the fact that so much information can be learned in such a short amount of time. Learning CAD has always been a daunting task, yet Hinako has proved that learning and applying CAD within a short period of time is possible. We will be sure to implement a heavier use of CAD in the upcoming robotics season