Communications Museum of Macao, 2009 - Electronic Device Construction Competition

Specification of the Entry
  • No size limitation to the entry.
  • No material limitation to the entry, but the material used is one of the judging factors of the economical and practical aspects of the design. No material will be provided by the Organizer.
  • Only 4WD motors are allowed (Fig.1) to install and used in the entry. There is no limitation of the performance of motors, but this is one of the judging factors of the economical and practical aspects of the design.
  • Maximum of 4 D-type, non-rechargeable batteries are allowed to use, the fewer the number of batteries used, the more economical and practical the entry is considered to be. Participants are required to bring their own batteries.
  • All entries must use electromagnets to lift up the paper clips supplied by the Organizer.
Fig.1 4WD motor
Entry Testing
  • All the entries are subject to immediate testing during the submission. Please assign one skilled team member to operate the electromagnetic crane to transport paper clips within 60 seconds (Fig.2).
  • Transport requirement: Use the crane to transport given paper clips from the location of Container 1 to Container 2 (Fig.3). There is no restriction for the location of the electromagnetic crane, but the boom must perform uplifting and descending actions during the operation. Fig.4 shows detailed information of the testing site.
  • After testing, the total weight of paper clips successfully transported into the Container 2 will be recorded immediately. Any paper clips outside the Container 2 will not be counted.
Fig.2 Paper clips Fig.3 Transport locations Fig.4   Testing site
Judging Criteria
All entries will be graded using the following criteria
  1. Scientific theory: Application of technical knowledge, scientific methods and theories to the submitted entry.
  2. Capability and creativity: Presentation, outlook and creativity in the construction of any parts and the economy and the practicality of the material used.
  3. Efficiency: Refers to the efficiency of transporting paper clips and the total weight of the paper clips is used as the base score. No more than 6 motors will be allowed to be installed and used in each entry. The efficiency grade is penalized when more than 3 motors are used and more points are awarded when fewer than 3 motors are used. The efficiency score is graded according to the following table:
    0 motor used: +50%
    1 motor used: +20%
    2 motors used: +5%
    3 motors used: 0%
    4 motors used: -3%
    5 motors used: -15%
    6 motors used: -30%
  4. Presentation: Finalists are required to present their design concepts and to conduct live demonstration of submitted entries to the judges within a fixed amount of time.