Aug 11 2016
The Robotics Entrepreneurship Competition of the 15th College Robotics Contest closed on July 28 in the northern Chinese city of Harbin. Sponsored by China's leading robot manufacturer HIT Robot Group (HRG), the competition is part of HRG's efforts to promote innovation in young people and support robotics start-ups.
Winners awarded at the closing ceremony (Credit: PRNewsFoto/HIT Robot Group)
Among the award winners was Tsinghua University's intelligent transportation system LinkTravel, which uses new technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud computing to transform traditional transportation models.
One aspect of LinkTravel is a new "intelligent city" system that connects public transport passengers, city centers and transportation resources with artificial intelligence technologies that collect and analyze passenger data. By offering a new solution for green and sustainable transportation, the project attracted attention because of its business value and potential to improve passenger experiences and management efficiency.
The competition attracted 69 teams and robotics enterprises from more than 40 colleges around the country, with top projects announced and awards presented at the end of the three-day event. The highlight among all the awards is the Special Award that went to Jingda Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. of Tsinghua University, and the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) project at Beihang University.
During the ceremony, HRG signed agreements with four contestant teams including Jingda. The four contestants will receive support from HRG in the future and a range of cooperation projects will be carried out.
"The competition provides a stage for young talent and outstanding projects in robotics, and further promotes robotics innovation in China," said Qiao Hui, senior vice president of HRG. "As an innovation-oriented company, HRG has contributed a lot to social and technological development. By sponsoring the competition and cooperating with such high potential teams, we demonstrate HRG's commitment to encourage college students to practice what they have learned, and help start-up companies with financial and technological support."
Zhao Liang, vice president of HRG, said during the contestants' tour to the HIT Robot Group that HRG will continue offering financial and service support for entrepreneurs, and building a better platform to incubate more projects. "Our team is a young and energetic one. We are always looking for young talent to join us," said Zhao.