A broken robot was not enough to stop SM Sains Kepala Batas from retaining its Robomania title in the Academy League category for Penang schools.
The school’s Robota Sakba team overcame the mechanical setback to beat SMJK Jit Sin II 3-1 in the final, while SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir and SMK Bandar Baru Perda finished third and fourth respectively at Tech Dome Penang, George Town.
Team captain Muhammad Amirul Akil Ahmad Sabri, 15, scored twice in the final to help secure the team’s second consecutive title in the fast-paced, three-versus-three configuration robot football tournament.
He and his teammates, Muhammad Afeef Amsyar Mohd Zulkizan and Muhammad Asyraf Mohd Aswad, are all Form Three students.
The victory came despite a technical problem causing part of one robot to break.
Muhammad Amirul said the damaged machine began moving unpredictably, forcing him to adapt quickly.
“I had to control it more carefully,” he said, noting that controlling a robot with a console was harder than playing football on the pitch.
“When we play football ourselves, we can control the ball with our feet.
“With the robot, we have to rely on the console.”
The team, equipped with three robots and one spare, spent two days preparing for the matches, Muhammad Amirul said, adding that the biggest lesson for him was the true value of teamwork during play.
“If my teammate had not been there to score the goal, we would not get the points.”
Matches consisted of two two-minute halves, with golden-goal extra time used in the knockout rounds.
Students controlled their robots from behind the pitch, with teams permitted to make quick repairs and strategy changes between games.
At the primary school level, SK Desa Murni’s Semurni Rovers took the Academy League title after scoring 16 goals in four matches.
SK Permatang Tok Mahat came second with SK Sri Aman, third and SK Sungai Puyu, fourth.
Semurni Rovers captain Muhammad Niyaz Amsyar Shaiful Edham, 12, said his team trained for a month, including two weeks of intensive preparation.
The four-member team, which also comprised Adrian Hardy Hasrul Harwady, Muhammad Izzan Haziq Mohd Ridzuan and Abdullah Mu’awwidz Mu’az overcame control issues and a collision that damaged one robot, which teachers helped repair quickly.
The Football Cup category for nationwide schools was won by RoboXcelerate from SK Seri Besout in Sungkai, Perak.
Organised by Tech Dome Penang, Robomania is an annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) tournament giving students hands-on experience in engineering and robot design.
A total of 564 students from 143 schools across eight states took part in the eighth edition.
Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng, who launched the grand finale, said the programme gave students an opportunity to learn through designing, building and controlling robots.
Tech Dome Penang chief executive officer Khoo Boo Wooi said Robomania had grown from a robotics competition into a broader STEM platform.
“This year’s preliminary rounds were held in Penang, Sabah, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur.
“The Academy League is for students new to robotics, while the Football Cup challenges participants to design, build and programme their own robots before competing on the field.
“STEM should be experienced, not just explained,” he said.
