Paper presentation during The 14th RoboCup International Symposium 2010 SINGAPORE on 25th June

2010 at Singapore Polytechnic.

SUSTAINING ROBOT TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN BRUNEI

SCHOOLS THROUGH COMPETITIONS

By:

Muhammad Purat Abdullah Sikut Nor Erawadi Hj Ibrahim

Cert. Ed., B.A (Ed.) Brunei B.Sc (Ed.) Brunei, M.Sc. Sussex
STEP Centre, MOE, STEP Centre, MOE,
Brunei Darussalam Brunei Darussalam

ABSTRACT
In its attempt to introduce and mainstream robot technology and education to schools, The Science,
Technology and Environment Partnership Centre (STEP Centre), a unit under Ministry of Education, Brunei
Darussalam has organised several robot technology-based competitions annually since 2003. From a humble
beginning of micromouse competition, the other robot competitions organised were the Lego Mindstorms and
the usage of highly complexed automation of robots as in Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU) Robocon
competitions. This paper examines each competition, their challenges, achievement of local students’
participation in global contests such as the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO), International Robotic Olympiad
(IRO) and ABU Robocon. A major concern in sustaining such competitions is the ever-growing complexity of
robot as other countries are very much ahead in the quest for robot supremacy. Furthermore, constant
upgrades of software and hardware in the technologies not only make them more expensive, it can also lead to
diminished students’ interests as robots become less fun but more serious. In terms of mainstreaming robot
education, this paper suggests a more serious effort by related parties such as STEP Centre, Curriculum
Development Department and Department of Technical Education to insert the understanding, designing and
application knowledge of robot technology into the curriculum (primary and secondary) as to make it more
meaningful, sustainable and relevant to SPN21 (a new national education system). This can be enhanced
probably by linking with the recently established Design and Technology subject. At the moment, robot
technology in schools is restricted or exclusive only to students joining for the sake of competitions, such as
those organised by STEP Centre, or in robotic clubs in some schools headed by interested and competent IT-
related and physics teachers. Knowledge in robot technology is becoming increasingly important in this world
of automation and play a crucial role in career development of our future generation.

INTRODUCTION
Robot technology education is not exclusively included in the school’s curriculum either in the
primary or secondary levels. Robotics has long been considered as engineering-related which
could only be understood upon gaining the knowledge and application of mathematics and
physics, which means curriculum of the tertiary level or higher. In Brunei Darussalam, even
traditional engineering introduced are electrical, mechanical, chemical and petroleum
engineering whereby the latter is to cater the extensive oil and gas industry, which remains the
main economic activity in this country.

Robot technology has grown importance and relevance for our younger generation. Children
and teenagers have natural tendencies to play toy robots and fascinated with automation. In
entertainment, television and films with animation of cartoon heroes such as Transformers and
Star Wars have helped to raise robotic profiles. Computer gaming companies have created

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thousands of video softwares which only enhance interest in robotic technology for our
teenagers. Hence, there must be some serious effort to involve the school children to gain
basic knowledge on robot technology which can be introduced in primary and secondary school
levels. In materialising and taking up the challenge, The Science, Technology and Environment
Partnership Centre, (STEP Centre), Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam have initiated
robot education through co-ordinating and organising robot-natured competitions.

To date, the robot technology-based competitions introduced and organised by STEP Centre
are:

1. Micromouse (local competition known as Robotech Competition) ;

2. LEGO Mindstorms (local competition known as Brunei Robotic Competition – BRO); and
3. ABU Robocon (local competition known as ABU Robocon local selection).

From a humble beginning since 2003, robot competitions in Brunei Darussalam have increased
in recognition. Enhanced with participation in international competitions, it has put our country
on the map of robot-conscious societies the world over. STEP Centre has put in a lot of effort
for various robot competitions and some remarkable achievement gained have catapulted the
abilities and talents amongst local schoolchildren. Most importantly, the exposure of the
students and teachers involved boost their confidence in robotic knowledge. STEP Centre will
remain on the forefront in ensuring its sustainability.

Micromouse Competition
This competition involves teams designing and building simple autonomous robots which races
to complete a race track as fast as possible. The objectives of the national competition are to
inculcate interest and understanding of robotics and to enhance the development and
innovation in making robots. It is given the name because of the obvious appearance of the
size of the machine. It comprises of a chassis, a drive or motor to move it, a steering or turning
method, sensors to detect a white line, a control logic to keep the vehicle on track and a power
source (Ong, 2010). The parts are relatively the cheapest in local robot competitions. The local
competition which commenced in 2003 is known as Robotech Competition and. The primary
tasks of the micromouse are either about speed or completion of race lap within the shortest
time. By 2005 onwards, STEP Centre has included “Gladiator” challenges. Two opposite
machines bang on each other and the better “pusher” wins the contest. Micromouse is
competed by secondary and tertiary school levels. To date, Brunei Darussalam has not
participated in any international micromouse competitions.

LEGO Mindstorms
LEGO Mindstorms robot experience was introduced by STEP Centre in 2004 as another robot-
based competition. Under STEP Centre, LEGO Mindstorms for Schools, LEGO RCX software
version 2.5 was introduced and utilised initially. The local competition is known as Brunei
Robotic Competition (BRO). The objectives of the competition were to introduce basic
knowledge on how to build robots from primary school levels; to cultivate students’ interest in
robot technology in relation to the real world; to develop primary and secondary school students’
interest and talents in science, mathematics and technology; and to promote creative thinking,
communication and cooperation skills (STEP Forward, 2007). The body structures use familiar
LEGO bricks. Programming is done using computer and fed across by infrared. Read by the

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“brain”. Completion of specific tasks such as scoring goals, overcoming hurdles and so on.
Apart from its smart looks and ability to look differently thanks to the bricks, this is an attractive
competition and suits well with primary and secondary students. There is also no requirement
of welding expertise or shaping of objects know-how required as present in other two robots
mentioned. When first started, STEP Centre trained 20 teachers (10 primary and 10 secondary)
for a duration of 2 ½ hours for 5 afternoons. The hardware changes and succeeded with the
current NXT software version 2.9. The support from schools has always been encouraging and
as to date, probably more than 40 schools in the country possess at least one set of LEGO
Mindstorms with site license. The schools actually use their own budget to purchase the sets
and license. The local competition follows exactly with international competition for that year.
STEP would build the same race tracks as per international programmes. This helps ensure
that the representing winning schools become familiar with the competition and hopefully
achieve a very good result.

ABU Robot Contest (ABU ROBOCON)

In the higher institution level, STEP Centre also helps in co-ordinating a more mechanical and
higher-order robot constructions which must compete in various tasks’ completion. The Asian
Broadcasting Union (ABU) Robot Contest (ROBOCON) which was initiated in Japan in 2002 is
an annual project of ABU to showcase robot technology whilst developing quality television
coverage of each member country’s local event. For Brunei Darussalam, the national
broadcasting agency, Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB) collaborates with STEP Centre which co-
ordinates with the interested technical institutions. Each year, a technical institution is sent to
represent the country. Where there are two institutions interested, a local ABU Robocon would
be carried out to choose the outright winner to represent the country. ABU Robocon is held at
different member countries annually. The robotic tasks incorporated normally reflect or link to
the host country’s national heritage or culture. This is an intense competition where strategies
of the operators and of course the capabilities of the robots, that were normally made from
scratch, can differentiate between winning and losing.

Information on the 3 types of competitions organised for schools / institutions in Brunei

Darussalam are given in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The 3 types of local competitions with their venues and dates of events from 2003 -
2009

Year Robotech Competition Brunei Robotic ABU Robocon (local

(Micromouse) Competion (LEGO selection)
Mindstorms)
2003 Jerudong Playground
Amphitheatre – –
(9th Mac)

2004 Universiti Brunei Beribi Telanai primary Oil and Gas Discovery
Darussalam (UBD) school Centre (OGDC) Seria
(14th Mac) (25th Sept) (20th April)

2005 The Mall Gadong Pusar Ulak primary school Sultan Saiful Rijal
(22nd May) (20th Sept) Technical School
(7th July)

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 2006 Pusat Tingkatan Enam Sayyidina Abu Bakar Paduka Seri Begawan
Berakas (20th July) secondary school Sultan Science College
(16th Sept) (29th June)

2007 Duli Pengiran Muda Al- PAP Hajah Masna

Muhtadee Billah College secondary school Not held
(5th August) (29th August)

2008 Berakas Secondary School PAP Hajah Masna Not held

(20th August) Secondary School
(28th August)
2009 RTB Sungai Akar
Not held (due to Influenza A H1N1 outbreak) (13th June)

Participation in international robot competitions

STEP Centre also co-ordinates on the participation of local school / institution winners in
international competitions. Robot-related competitions participated so far are the ABU
Robocon, International Robot Olympiad (IRO) and World Robot Olympiad (WRO). Both IRO
and WRO are represented by annual winners of Brunei Robot Olympiad (BRO). The
information on the participation and achievement in those competitions are shown in Figures
2a, 2b and 2c.

Figure 2a. Brunei Darussalam’s participation in international ABU ROBOCON

Year Representative of Local Institution Venue Achievement

2003 Jefri Bolkiah Engineering College Bangkok Thailand No Award

(22nd – 26th August)
2004 Jefri Bolkiah Engineering College Seoul, Republic of No Award
Korea (8th – 14th)
2005 Jefri Bolkiah Engineering College Beijing, People’s Won Toyota
Republic of China Award
(25th – 29th Aug)
2006 Jefri Bolkiah Engineering College Kuala Lumpur, No Award
Malaysia
(8th – 12th Sept.)
2007 Jefri Bolkiah Engineering College Hanoi, Vietnam No Award
(24th – 29th Aug)
2008 Did not participate Pune, India –
(no takers)
2009 UBD (Withdrew due to technical Tokyo, Japan –
problem on robots)

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 Figure 2b. Brunei Darussalam’s participation in International Robot Olympiad (IRO)

Year Local Representative Venue / Host Achievement

Country
2007 Primary: Muhammad Alam Seria Singapore No Award
primary school (Junior Legged (27th – 30th
Robot and Obstacle Race) Nov)

2008 Primary: Binturan primary school Kuala Lumpur, Won 4 Special Awards (for):
Secondary: SMJA secondary Malaysia 1. Rolling Ball Maze Solving
school (17th – 21st Junior League
Dec) 2. Ball Maze Solving
Challenge League
3. Cart Rolling Ball Maze
Solving Challenge league
4. Legged Robot Race
Challenge League

2009 Not joined South Korea –

Figure 2c. Brunei Darussalam’s participation in World Robot Olympiad (WRO)

Year Local Representative Venue Achievement

2004 Primary: Hj Mohd Jaafar Maun Singapore 13th position from 33

Primary School (5th – 7th Nov) countries participated.
Secondary: No participation

2005 Primary: Anggerek Desa Primary Bangkok, Thailand

School (4th – 6th Nov) No award

2006 Primary: Lumapas primary school Nanning, People’s

(Robot Soccer Goal) Republic of China
Secondary: PAP Hajah Masna (14th – 19th Nov) No award
secondary school (Robot
Adventure)
2007 Not joined Taipei –

2008 Not joined Yokohama, Japan –

2009 Not joined Pohang, South –

Korea

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CHALLENGES

Based on experience in organising the competitions and feedback from the participants and
other relevant parties, challenges that were encountered and foreseen are listed in key-points
below.

Micromouse Competition
1) No continuity after national event (no participation in international competitions so far).
2) Either short-termed or not much educational skills required. For example, students only
learn to do simple soldering techniques.
3) Based on luck on day of competition – Some work for months and the mouse failed on
the actual day whilst some of the mouse prepared overnight wins on the following day!
4) Possibility of asking someone else to prepare without judges know about it, then simply
turn up and win! Again no educational or healthy competition values.
5) Still not being used as a learning material directly in lessons, for example in physics, etc.
6) Optimally 3 students work on one mouse – not educationally- viable.

Lego Mindstorm Competition

1) Expensive sets as schools are required to purchase using their own budget –
disadvantage for schools with less funds.
2) Optimally 3 students work on one set – not educationally-viable.
3) WRO and IRO competitions are held in either countries considered too far away or
uncommon to local government.
4) Software version may be upgraded or change and thus require more financial resources.

Robocon Competition
1) Basically very expensive and less likely to be supported by the institution’s own
administration (in terms of budget allocation). Very demanding and high-end, which
realistically could cost $10,000 or more to build.
2) Not many industries exist in the country to sponsor the local teams.
3) Only 1 or 2 institutions interested and capable due to overly technical challenges that are
encountered.

In general, the challenges observed in organising robot competitions are :

1) Technology advancement for robots are in the fast lane – As Brunei can be said to
relatively behind, to catch up or sustain pursuance of robot knowledge become critically
difficult to sustain especially in educational field.
2) A major concern in sustaining such competitions is the ever-growing complexity of robot
technology as other countries are very much ahead in the quest for robot supremacy.
3) Constant upgrades of software and hardware in these technologies not only require
more funding but can also lead to diminished students’ interests in robots.
4) That is why, if we are to start a robot competition type A now, and already in many years
behind other countries, our country will be at a disadvantage and takes time to be able to
be relatively competitive.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to mainstream robotic education, it is recommended that :

1) A more serious effort and collaboration by related departments under MOE such as
STEP Centre, Curriculum Development Department and Department of Technical
Education to look into possibilities of integrating the understanding, designing and
application of robot technology in the curriculum (primary and secondary). How?
2) By probably linking with the recently established Design and Technology subject thus
making it more meaningful, sustainable and relevant to SPN21 (the new national
education system) – as SPN21 considers education which focuses on career
development of the students (to reduce unemployment).
3) Currently, robot technology in schools is restricted to students exclusively joining for the
sake of competitions, such as those organised by STEP Centre, or in robotic clubs in
some schools initiated by a handful number of passionate teachers. Unless
understanding or application of robot technology is inserted into the curriculum
(especially primary and secondary), micromouse and other robot competitions will
remain as they are, exclusive competitions organised periodically by STEP Centre or as
activities in any related extra curricular activity clubs. Even then the latter depends on
the keenness of the teacher-in-charge or adequate resources. Connectivity and
mainstream depends on how the knowledge complements with the national syllabus
(SPN 21).
4) Once considered as essential learning material in the curriculum, financial resources will
be approved for allocation for government schools to purchase the sets.
5) Indeed, robotic technology is becoming increasingly important in the world of automation
and knowledge in it plays a crucial role in promoting and providing a better choice of
career development for those who are in schools now – our future generation.
6) Even nationally, there is a lack of expertise in robot especially in education. Mostly on
personal level, technical experts are normally lecturers. (which university or technical
institutions offer courses on robotics?)
7) Join international competitions, e.g. APEC micromouse contest (maze type), Singapore
Robotic Games, All-Japan Micromouse contest. – continuity – sustaining it can lead to
better achievement.
8) In order to do this, more collaboration between STEP, curriculum dept, DTE, higher
institution etc needed to ensure that robot technology education is relevant to SPN 21.

References

1. Ong (2010), “Robotech 2010, rules and regulation”. Unpublished document.

2. STEP Forward (2007), “Robokidz at Brunei Robotics Olympiad (BRO)”, Issue 2, May
2007.