National Junior Robotics Competition

The National Junior Robotics Competition or "NJRC" is organised by Science Centre, Singapore and supported by the Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education (Singapore)

The Ministry Of Education is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation and implementation of policies related to education in Singapore.-Statutory boards:...

, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Agency for Science, Technology and Research

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore...

. This annual competition started off in 1999 with 167 teams from 70 schools. In the competition, teams of not more than 5 students build a robot using the Lego Mindstorms

Lego Mindstorms

The LEGO Mindstorm series of kits contain software and hardware to create small, customizable and programmable robots. They include a programmable 'Brick' computer that controls the system, a set of modular sensors and motors, and LEGO parts from the Technics line to create the mechanical...

kit. Competitors are divided into three categories, Upper Primary Division, for Primary 4 to Primary 6 students, Lower Secondary Division, for secondary 1 to secondary 3 students, and Tertiary Division, for 1st and 2nd year ITE/JC/Poly students. In 2007, 13 schools participated in the competition, sending a total of 37 teams.

2011

River Valley High School (Tertiary Division)

Hwa Chong Institution

Hwa Chong Institution

Hwa Chong Institution is an independent school in Singapore for students aged 12 to 18 covering both secondary and pre-university levels. A Ministry of Education-designated FutureSchool, it operates under the Special Assistance Plan for bilingualism, and offers the Integrated Programme and also...

(Secondary Division)

Chua Chu Kang Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

2010

River Valley High School (Tertiary Division)

River Valley High School (Secondary Division)

Rulang Primary School

Rulang Primary School

Rulang Primary School is a government primary school located in Jurong West St 52, Singapore.-History:Rulang Primary School was founded in a shophouse at 13 m.s, Jurong Road in 1930, and began with Mr Yak Woh Hoon as the head of the school...

(Upper Primary Division)

2009

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science (Tertiary Division)

Bukit Panjang Government High School

Bukit Panjang Government High School

Bukit Panjang Government High School is a secondary school in Choa Chu Kang, a residential town in the western part of Singapore...

(Secondary Division)

Lianhua Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

2008

Hwa Chong Institution

(Tertiary Division)

River Valley High School (Secondary Division)

Rulang Primary School

Rulang Primary School

(Upper Primary Division)

2007

Hwa Chong Institution (Tertiary Division)

Chua Chu Kang Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Swiss Cottage Secondary School

Swiss Cottage Secondary School

Swiss Cottage Secondary School is a government secondary school in Bukit Batok, Singapore.-History:Swiss Cottage Secondary School started in 1962 with about 200 pupils, housed at Raffles Institution in Bras Basah Road as the school building along Dunearn Road was still under construction...

(Lower Secondary Division)

2006

Chua Chu Kang Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Admiralty Secondary School

Admiralty Secondary School

Admiralty Secondary School is government secondary school in Singapore.In 2010, Admiralty Secondary School attained the MOE Sustained Achievement Award for the Aesthetics and 2nd Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups...

(Lower Secondary Division)

2005

Compassvale Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Admiralty Secondary School

Admiralty Secondary School

(Lower Secondary Division)

2004

Cedar Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Admiralty Secondary School

Admiralty Secondary School

(Lower Secondary Division)

2003

Evergreen Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Admiralty Secondary School

Admiralty Secondary School

(Lower Secondary Division)

2002

Queenstown Primary School (Upper Primary Division)

Fuhua Secondary School

Fuhua Secondary School

Fuhua Secondary School is a secondary school located in Jurong West, in the western part of Singapore...

(Lower Secondary Division)

2001

Rulang Primary School

(Upper Primary Division)

Hua Yi Secondary (Lower Secondary Division)

2000

Rulang Primary School

(Upper Primary Division)

CHIJ Toa Payoh (Lower Secondary Division)

1999

Riverside Secondary School

Riverside Secondary School (Singapore)

Riverside Secondary School is a co-educational, single session, government school on Woodlands Street, Singapore. Students of the school are referred to as "Riversidians". Mrs. Sng-Tan Siew Hong is the principal....

(Lower Secondary Division)

2008

The first mission of the challenge involves knocking down drink cans of 330ml each.
The mission also involves a second mission which is a secret mission. They are made known to the Pri and Sec Sch teams a few days before the actual challenge. The tertiary teams only know the secret mission on the actual day of the challenge.
10th anniversary of National Junior Robotics Competition
Hwa Chong Institution won the National Junior Robotics Competition Championship for 2 years consecutively in the Tertiary Division. They also clinched the Best Robot Performance Award in the Tertiary Division, making them the big winner at the 10th NJRC.
River Valley High won the championship for secondary division for the first time.
Rulang Primary School reclaimed their status as the robotics champion for upper primary division from Chua Chu Kang Primary School, which won the championship for 2006 and 2007.

2007

The introduction of the Lego Mindstorms NXT
Lego Mindstorms NXT
Lego Mindstorms NXT is a programmable robotics kit released by Lego in late July 2006.It replaced the first-generation Lego Mindstorms kit, which was called the Robotics Invention System. The base kit ships in two versions: the Retail Version and the Education Base Set . It comes with the NXT-G...

system
The mission had two storeys
The teams had to present a video footage to showcase the team's entire learning journey instead of the usual journal
The introduction of new category involving ITE/JC/Poly(1st year & 2nd year) students
For the first time in National Junior Robotics Competition's history, the judges allowed Admiralty Secondary School to have a rerun for the mission. This was because the playfield was not up to standard as structural errors were experienced. The playfield which Admiralty Secondary School ran on had its deformities, resulting in the playfield's base to be unbalanced. Thus, many of Admiralty Secondary School's robots were unable to complete the missions during the first run.It was after several deliberations and negotiations before the decision was announced to allow Admiralty Secondary School a second run for the mission so as to make sure the teams are playing under fair grounds.
Chua Chu Kang Primary School won the championship award for the upper primary category for 2 years consecutively, with full marks for the surprise mission during the Grand Finals.

2006

Robots have to travel in 5 cm deep waters
The mission had an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
The playing field was constructed using acrylic
Acrylic glass
Poly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
Admiralty Secondary School won the National Junior Robotics Competition Championship for 4 years consecutively.

2005

The mission had three storey
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...

s
The mission had stairs
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
Admiralty Secondary School won the National Junior Robotics Competition Championship for 3 years consecutively.

2004

Teams were given 7 missions to work on
Mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s were not allowed to be used by competitors during competition
Teams were not provided with the playing field to use at their own home ground. Only selected schools were provided
All teams in the Primary school section achieved zero points in the surprise mission
“The Best Robot Performance Award” was decided from the interview sessions.
Admiralty Secondary School won the National Junior Robotics Competition Championship for 2 years consecutively.

2002

Non-competitors were not allowed in the pit areas to prevent unfair advantages
The playing mat was made out of printed paper and not black sticky tape
The "Surprise mission" was revealed on the Finals itself.

2001

Teams were allowed to use two light sensors and one rotation sensor
The "Surprise mission" was introduced. The surprise mission was revealed the day before the Finals.

2000

Teams were given objects to collect and deliver
The competition had two missions
The mission had ramps
Inclined plane
The inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. By moving an object up an inclined plane rather than completely vertical, the amount of force required is reduced, at the expense of increasing the...

Past National Junior Robotics Challenge Themes

2010: RoBIOtics
- Biodiversity & the roles scientists play in helping to conserve it

2008: Saving Earth
- Destroying a dam that is inefficient

2007: Climate Change
- Emergency on rising sea level

2006: Rig Attack
- Oil and future energy

2005: Excavation Survey Team: ~H2O~
- Sources of water

2004: JOCARA Voyage of Dr John POTTER
- The living creatures in the ocean

2003: Bermuda Triangle
- About the Bermuda Triangle

2002: Superheroes
- Forest fires and oil spill

2001: Nanobots in Innerspace
- Nanotechnology

2000: Mission Mars
- About Mars

1999 Antarctica
- The Antarctica expedition

External links

National Junior Robotics Competition website (Updated yearly on challenge). Accessed 18 July 2007

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