Subic Freeport students bag 3rd place in robotics Olympiad

Elementary students from the Special Education for the Gifted (SPED-G) Kalayaan in this premier Freeport bagged Third place in the recent Philippine Robotics Olympiad held at the Ayala Malls Trinoma, Quezon City.

During the 23rd Philippine Robotics Olympiad, grade VI students namely, Anne Margarette Inton, Dru Triguero, and Zyrene Tantay placed third in the Future Innovators Category-Elementary Level.

The said three students are part of the Aerosense Team mentored by coaches Ma Alon Elago, John Lester Perez and Principal Abdon Bayle.

With the theme Earth Allies, the 23rd Philippine Robotics Olympiad Elementary Level RoboMission Finals was held on July 29 at the Felta Multimedia Center where the Aerosense Team displayed their robot, the Aerosense.

The Aerosense is an ESP32 Drone-Based System for an Environmental Real-Time Monitoring of Air Quality, Humidity and Temperature.

According to the team members, the Aerosense was developed to address critical environmental issues such as air pollution and climate change.

“With the rapid urbanization and industrialization of cities, there is a pressing need for effective environmental monitoring solutions,” the team members stated.

During the team’s courtesy call to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño congratulated the members and coaches of Aerosense Team.

“We are very proud of your achievements. You have shown that the country’s best and brightest robotics students come from the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Mabuhay po kayo sa inyong naabot,” he said. The chairman also congratulated SBMA Director Anne Lorraine Adorable Inton, the proud mother of Aerosense member Anne Margarette, for raising a bright and wonderful child.

The Philippine Robotics Olympiad is an annual science educational event that primarily aims to challenge the intellectual skills and critical thinking of elementary and high school students. (MPD-SBMA)

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Japanese firm launches new line of robotic parts in Subic Freeport

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (Japan), a leading innovator of precision-gearing solutions for robotics and industrial automation, formally launched its operations here on Wednesday, aiming to mass produce in its Subic factory a new line of robot components developed in Japan.

Nidec-Shimpo First Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue said the wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corp. and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corp. will initially build speed reducers for high-precision motion control applications at the rate of 10,000 to 25,000 units per month.

But the plant’s target production is expected to increase to 100,000 units per month at the end of this year, and to 120,000 units per month by March 2020, he added.

Inoue stressed that the gearless component parts to be produced in Subic are an entirely new product line that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world. He described them as “super silent, and with zero backlash and smooth rotation.”

The Subic-made products will be exported to Spain, the United States and Germany, he added.

The launch of Nidec-Shimpo operations here was attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, and Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Haneda said Nidec’s expansion “demonstrates the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential (and) shows the rigorous effort of Nidec to take advantage of opportunities and take on challenges to break new ground.”

He also cited the company for its skills development activities that make its workers “industry-ready and technology-capable.”

Meanwhile, Gordon said Nidec’s new project “shows the trust and confidence of companies like Nidec in the capacity of the Filipino workers, and in our government’s consistency in our rules and regulations.”

“We should have more companies like Nidec in Subic,” he added.

On the other hand, SBMA Chairman Eisma noted that Nidec-Shimpo’s operation here “will further promote Subic’s stature in high-end manufacturing, improve the proficiency of local workers in technology, and, of course, bolster the local economy by increasing exports.”

Eisma also praised Nidec-Shimpo for sending local workers to Japan for training.

According to Inoue, the firm had sent a total of 100 Filipino workers to Japan as the first batch of trainees to learn the technology involved in producing precision motors and speed reducers. Of these, 70 had finished the course, and Nidec had again sent another 46 trainees for the second batch.

Inoue added that Nidec intends to hire more personnel at the Subic plant on top of the 100 workers it will employ in the first year of operation.

He pointed out that the Subic factory’s monthly product capacity of P120,000 units is greater than the combined capacity of Nidec’s plants in Kyoto, which was at 30,000 units in 2018, and in Ueda, which is expected to reach 50,000 units in 2019. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Nidec-Shimpo Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue (left) explains how a high-precision speed reducer works to Sen. Richard Gordon and SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma during the opening of the Nidec-Shimpo manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] Sen. Richard Gordon, along with SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma and other guests, views precision products manufactured by Nidec-Shimpo during the opening of the company’s manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Subic Bay students shine in world robotics tilt

The Philippine robotics team bagged the Best in Mechanism Award in the World Adolescent Robot Contest (WARC) 2015 recently held in Beijing, China.

The team’s flagship robot is called P3DRO or EVE3 Pearl Diving Robot created by students led by The Manila Times College of Subic (TMTCS) standout Keshia Ianthe Gutierrez, an 11-year-old fifth grader.

Also in the team were 11-year-old Nina Alrica Viacrusis, and nine-year-old Takumi Bryan Sab-it.

P3DRO is 25×25 inches in size and has light and color sensors with power motors. It’s main task is to find and count pearls inside the treasure chest and accurately dispense pingpong balls at the shore.

Within the given time period of 30 seconds, the team has to complete all the three segments or else the robot will get drown.

“The team did not expect having an award. During the elimination rounds, they were ranked 10th. The Best in Mechanism Award came by surprise when the trophy was handed,” Maria Aileen Viacrusis, who handles the robotic class of The Manila Times College of Subic basic education department under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum in Subic, Zambales.

The Best in Mechanism Award was given based on robot design, how it runs and the physical tasks made by the object.

“Honestly, I am really confident they will be on the top. They may not have the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place but they really did a good job back there. Among the countries that competed, the team deserves to be recognized and I am very grateful having this experienced with them,” said Philippine robotics team coach Krista Camille Esguerra.

Twenty-four countries participated in this year’s edition. The theme was “Friendship First” as it aimed to build friendship and camaraderie among participants during the three-day meet.

Gifted children

For the record, Gutierrez is a consistent honor student and is labeled a gifted child. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Olongapeños and San Marcelino Zambales Achiever awards for giving honors to the country.

She has won numerous national and division contests in essay writing, declamation, Quiz Bees, chess, poster making, football and singing contests. She is the first Tang Philippines Tang-Galing Kid awardee.

Gutierrez, a treasurer in the TMTCS student council, also plays piano and violin. Playing Minecraft is her favorite past time.

Viacrusis, on the other hand, was the team leader in the group.

Often called a silent worker, she was the champion in the 2014 National Robotics Science Fair Competition.

This future scientist also has a passion for writing. Recently, she competed in the editorial writing category of the annual Press Conference Journalism Contest Division Level.

Arts and music are among her other interests.

For his part, Sab-it is a big fan of Lego since he was four.

He likes to watch science videos online and loves to play Minecraft and other computer games like Gutierrez.

He actually dreams of becoming a doctor but after discovering robotics, his interest shifted toward dealing with complicated numbers and creating designs as he hopes to become an engineer some day. He also represented his school in a Math competition last month.

In September, his group bagged the silver medal in the 14th Philippine Robotics Olympiad under the elementary regular category.

Early this month, his team was ranked 16th out of 74 teams after the second round eliminations in the World Robot Olympiad held in Qatar. (Jean Russel V. David)

PHOTO:
Nina Alrica Viacrusis (left), Keshia Ianthe Gutierrez (middle), and Takumi Bryan Sab-it (right) assemble their robot called as P3DRO or EVE3 Pearl Diving Robot. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

http://www.manilatimes.net/tmtcs-students-shine-in-world-robotics-tilt/232186/

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