UTAR students display innovation and resilience at U-ROCK national robotics competition

Teams of aspiring engineers from UTAR took part in the 2025 U-ROCK Competition, held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) from 6 to 8 November 2025. Organised by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), the annual national-level contest brought together top student talent in robotics from across Malaysia. Despite limited preparation time, UTAR’s teams delivered commendable performances, achieving sixth and seventh places in two highly competitive categories and earning accolades for both technical skill and teamwork.

In the Rope Climbing Robot category, the UTAR team distinguished itself by clinching sixth place, securing a RM500 cash prize, a gift hamper, and a participation trophy. The robot’s design was engineered to overcome a complex mission that involved vertical and horizontal rope traversal while executing object deployment tasks. With its robust climbing capabilities and an innovative extendable arm, the robot demonstrated mechanical dexterity and strategic control. Its integration of infrared sensors, limit switches, and an efficient gripper system enabled smoother transitions and greater precision during operations. Team members included students from the Mechatronics and Electrical Engineering programmes, namely Chiew Wei Heng, Thiam Di Sen, Chau Shen Yet, Wong Foo Hung, Ng Xing Yee, and Chang Yi Xuan, with mentorship from Kevin Chew Ken Yi and Lim Zi Quan.

Reflecting on their journey, the team shared that the competition offered a rare platform to apply engineering theory to real-world systems, especially in areas such as microcontrollers, sensor integration, and robotic design. “The experience was both demanding and rewarding, pushing us to improve our problem-solving and teamwork skills,” the team noted. They added that the project significantly strengthened their technical confidence and career readiness.

In the Legged Robot category, another UTAR team secured seventh place among sixteen participating groups. Although they narrowly missed a spot in the finals, their performance was nonetheless celebrated for its strong design and execution. Their entry featured a unique Trot Bot mechanism, which is a horse-like walking system enhanced by heel linkages that enabled high step clearance and effective obstacle navigation. With competition weight limits constraining motor output, this lightweight design maximised torque efficiency and ensured smoother leg movement across uneven terrain.

The robot was required to traverse a challenging course, complete with track bumps and time-based scoring, which tested both agility and speed. Reset rules added further pressure by allowing only three reinsertions at designated checkpoints. Yet, the team, comprising students from Mechatronics, Electrical and Electronics, and Mechanical Engineering, rose to the occasion. The members included Koo Chen Feng, Chia Yee Boon, Soo Jia Jun, Jayden Woon Mynn Wei, Bernie Lim Hui Ci, Chow Shu Yan, and Gan Jo Yee. They emphasised how the experience deepened their interdisciplinary understanding, from circuit design to structural modelling with AutoCAD and Fusion, and strengthened their group cohesion. “It was a good and insightful experience that can neither be purchased with money nor learnt in lecture classes,” they reflected candidly.

The U-ROCK Competition not only rewarded technical proficiency but also fostered a spirit of innovation, resilience, and cross-disciplinary collaboration among participants. UTAR’s consistent participation and strong performance in such national platforms underline the university’s commitment to nurturing industry-ready graduates equipped with hands-on experience, critical thinking, and teamwork, which are hallmarks of its engineering education philosophy.