Toyohashi University of Technology of Japan has won the Grand Prix of the ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest 2023 (ABU Robocon 2023) held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, 27th August 2023.

The Japanese students nabbed the top prize beating teams from 14 universities from Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The results of the half-day competition saw Japan win the Grand Prix followed by teams from Hong Kong (SAR) in second, with China and Vietnam sharing third place.

The contest themed “Casting Flowers Over Angkor Wat” also awarded the following prizes.

• The Best Idea Award: University of Electronic Science and Technology, China
• The Best Engineering Award: Hanoi University of Industry, Vietnam
• The Best Design Award: Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

Special Awards were also presented at the ceremony.

• The Panasonic Connect Award: Institute of Technology, Cambodia
• The Toyota Award: National Polytechnic Institute, Cambodia
• The Mabuchi Motor Award: Tribhuvan University, Nepal
• The Nagase Award: Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Mongolia
• The Rohm Award: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
• The Tokyo Electron Award: Alexandria University, Egypt
• The SMC Award: Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad, India

Speaking at the event, Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said this international event provided an opportunity for university students to demonstrate their technological capabilities, share experiences, and show cultural diversity.

Noting this is the first such event hosted by Cambodia, he said the contest showcases the progress of Cambodia’s robot technology to the world.

Pang Chamnan, Robocon Cambodia director of the state-run National Television of Cambodia (TVK), which co-organized the event with ABU, said “hosting such an international event has provided an opportunity for Cambodia to display the potential of its human resources in robotics as well as to showcase its culture and tradition to the world”.

The competition, co-organized by ABU and NHK Japan, is an intercollegiate robot competition established in 2002. During this competition, robots vie to accomplish specific tasks within designated timeframes. The primary goal of the contest is to cultivate camaraderie among young individuals who share similar interests and are poised to lead their respective nations into the 21st century. The event aims to propel the advancement of engineering and broadcasting technologies throughout the region.

ABU Robocon 2023 was supported by Cambodia’s Ministry of Information and sponsored by Panasonic Connect Co. Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, Mabuchi Motor Co. Ltd., Nagase Brothers Inc., ROHM Co. Ltd., Tokyo Electron, and SMC Corporation.

At the conclusion of the event, the ABU Robocon flag was formally passed from Cambodia to Vietnam, which is slated to host the 2024 edition.