The 6th Delta Advanced Automation Design Contest’s Grand Prize is Won by Fontys University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands

The 6h Delta Advanced Automation Design Contest (Delta Cup) was held at Delta’s Wujiang Plant in Jiangsu, China, from July 24-28. This year, the contest adopted the concept of advanced industrial automation development from Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing. Under the theme of “Seeking Smart IIoT Talents”, the competition included three major categories: Innovative Machines, Smart Factory, and Better Future Living. This year, the 79 teams that earned a place in the final contest included 62 teams from China, 8 from Taiwan, 3 from Thailand, 3 from India, 2 from Vietnam, and 1 from the newly participating the Netherlands - Fontys University of Applied Sciences. After the fierce competition, the winners of the Grand Prize, the highest honor, went to three schools, including Fontys University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands, Sun Yat-sen University from Taiwan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University from China.

Mr. Tim Lee, Head of Industrial Automation Business Group at Delta Electronics Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, stated, “We are excited that this year Fontys University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands made its debut at the Delta cup. We have been collaborating with Fontys for educational programs since 2016, and we’re happy to see them participating in this contest, which also makes it the first time ever that a school from EMEA joining the contest. The Fontys team was not only overwhelmed by being recognized as one of the winners of the Grand Prize, the team was also amazed by the variety of creative and advanced automation technology. To be able to interact with students from all countries is also a precious and unique experience.”

Mr. Kevin Lu, Technical Head of Industrial Automation Business Group at Delta Electronics, EMEA Region, said, “The Smart Wrist project from Fontys adopts a Codesys motion control system to drive two sets of servo drives and motors, and controls the 360 degree rotation of two independent wedge disks mounted on bearings. The ROS robotic system achieves robot joint motions and precise horizontal control. It is flexible and extendable. The wrist can be applied in medical surgeries and the robot arm extends the end axis. The advanced robotic technology and highly flexible extendibility is regarded as a practical and potential solution.”

At the ceremony, Mr. Andy Liu, the General Manager of Delta’s Industrial Automation Business Group said, “The Delta Advanced Automation Design Contest is an important event for Delta to fulfill corporate social responsibility and cultivate new talents with industry-university cooperation. Through the contest, Delta helps students majoring in industrial automation to utilize their creativity and theory learning in real applications. The demos of the 6th-year event showed many innovative designs and demonstrate that this contest uncovers student potential. We believe these participants will become top talents in their future careers.”

Yancey Hai, Chairman of Delta Electronics attended this year’s contest. He said at the opening ceremony, “Talent is the key factor in building smart cities and accelerating the social and economic development of humanity. Delta has faced talent shortage challenges during its own process of smart manufacturing transformation. The Delta Cup Advanced Automation Design Contest is a way to conquer this challenge. Combining Delta’s advanced smart manufacturing concepts and technology with cooperation between governmental organizations, corporations, and universities, we hope to cultivate and find more talent. From previous experience, this contest is a great platform for students to understand the trends of smart manufacturing with real practices.”

Min Wu, the Committee Member of the National Steering Committee for Undergraduate Teaching of Automation Specialties indicated that as society evolves knowledge from classrooms and textbooks are not enough for students. They need to be exposed to the latest techniques and products of the leading manufacturing corporations. For six consecutive years, the Delta Advanced Automation Design Contest has been closely tied with industry trends as an excellent platform for students to apply theory in real, innovative, and creative applications. In fulfilling the goals of the Ministry of Education, Wujiang is revolutionizing vocational education, promoting industry-university cooperation, and elevating the overall talent development standard.”

During the 4-day final contest, contestants needed to pass two stages including a team competition and a championship contest followed by a proposal introduction, a demo kit display, and a direct Q&A session with the judges. At the team competition, all 79 contestants presented their ideas and demonstrated their demo kits’ functions and features to all the judges. Finally, after thorough review, 15 teams out of the 79 were chosen to compete in the championship contest, where they conducted a project presentation, an on-site demo, and a Q&A session.

Delta also organized a variety of activities and keynote speeches during the contest, including a tour of a smart demonstration line and laboratories at the Delta Wujiang Plant, a teachers’ seminar for experience sharing, and a career forum. Through these activities, Delta hoped to create opportunities for more interaction between colleges and industry, and information exchanges between teammates as well as other contestants, for a positive influence on future talent cultivation and development.

As a world-class provider of smart manufacturing, Delta has improved industrial technology while sharing its experience and techniques with talented students and academics through Delta’s Advanced Automation Design Contest every year since 2014. Delta is dedicated to finding and cultivating more talent for its “Automation for a Changing World”.

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