APOC, Lego Robotics Competition in Sydney
On the last day of June, the Csányi Foundation’s Jász-Stones team of Lego robot programming and VUK Innovation headed to Sydney for the Asia Pacific Open Championship First Lego League – Asia Pacific Open Championship Lego Robotics Competition.
Already the team has been through a tough test on the journey, with a connection in Dubai and more than a day’s travel behind them. We were very lucky to meet a Hungarian teacher from the Australian diaspora who helped us navigate in the huge terminals. From summer to winter, we flew across continents and with an 8-hour time-zone shift we are now trying to prepare for the upcoming four-day competition where we will compete against more than 40 international teams. The next few days will be spent exploring the area, rehearsing and sightseeing. From Wednesday we will start the competition, where we will showcase not only our skills but also Hungarian culture, traditions and the Csányi Foundation. We are looking forward to meeting the teams from all over the world.
“Before the competition, we managed to visit some of Sydney’s major landmarks. We went to the Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and opened in 1973 after a lengthy construction period. The building, covered in Swedish tiles on the outside, is a magnificent theater and concert venue inside, providing a wonderful visual and acoustic experience for every visitor. We will never forget the sea cruise in Sydney Harbour, as the two sides of the harbor offered completely different views in good weather. This was also the best place to see the Opera House. We spent the day before the competition at Taronga Zoo, where we got to know Australia’s unique wildlife and flora. Kangaroos and emus are emblematic animals of Australia, but we also saw plenty of dingoes and koalas, and even a family of Tasmanian devils made an appearance.
On the first day of the competition, we set up our own pavilion, where visitors could see the journey of the Jász-Stones team to the finals, and of course, the Hungarian flags were not missing. Then came the main event of the day, the cultural evening, where we presented Hungary, Hungarian culture, and not least, the Foundation. There was dancing, flute music, traditional costumes, and even chocolate distribution. The venue was a huge bustle, with over 400 children meeting us, as more than 40 countries and 53 teams participated in the competition. On the second day of the competition, the Lego robotics runs took place, for which we had been preparing since September. Meanwhile, we also had the opportunity to showcase our innovation to the interested audience, and many people tried it out. With the help of the children, Mrs. Ildi made our team mascot, Vuk, the little fox, using needle-felting technique. On this day, to our great surprise, the head of the Hungarian Economic and Consular Office in Sydney, Chief Consul Péter László B. Nagy and his colleagues visited us, who also tried out the VUK innovation and wished us good luck in the competition. Finally, the organizers put on a circus show for us. On the third day, we presented our VUK innovation, which stands for Universal Communication for the Blind, and we also had to demonstrate the Lego robot implementation at this forum. All of this was done with three different presentations in English, and we also answered the jury’s questions at the end. In the afternoon, the director of the Sydney Hungarian School, Csilla Peredi-Blaskó, and her family visited us, who also tested the VUK innovation and had a pleasant conversation with us. On the last day, we solved joint robot tasks on the field with the Australian Vegemight team, which qualified as a separate competition event. The children confidently held their own in the international field, forming friendships with Japanese, Australian, Estonian, Brazilian, and German peers. Finally, the award ceremony followed, where the jury rewarded participants in several categories, and the Jász-Stones team achieved 1st place in the Innovation category out of the 53 international teams. This is a great result, and we are all extremely happy!” – Jász-Stones team, Csányi Foundation
“During the APOC Lego robot runs, we were very excited, with huge cheering and energy at the tables. Although we didn’t fully achieve the pre-planned goals and our coaching point, we made the most of the situation. We learned a lot from the other teams about their robot constructions, strategies, and spirit. It was great to see the different cultures, customs, and attitudes of the nations and how they can motivate each other.” – Márk Máté Kaptás, Jászság Group 1
“It was an incredible experience for me to travel to Australia with my team. The hardest part of the trip was the flight, during which most of us rested, watched movies, or listened to music. Unfortunately, time passed very slowly until we reached Australia, but when our plane landed, and we saw Sydney, our fatigue vanished, and we immediately admired the landscape. It was very difficult to adjust to the time zone here, as people in Sydney are 8 hours ahead of Hungary. After our first night, we woke up to strange sounds, and after a quick morning walk, we found out that instead of sparrows, parrots squawk in the wild here. We encountered many new things during our trip, such as learning about various cultures and tasting special foods. We sampled several types of Eastern cuisine since many Asians live here, so we tried sushi, pho soup, and even kangaroo meat. Luckily, the university where the competition was held was about 5 minutes from our hotel, so we found our way there very quickly. This year, Macquarie University hosted the First Lego League competition. It’s a huge university campus with various buildings, including a theater. The university area is surrounded by beautiful nature, with many trees, spaces, and a lake. During the competition, we gained a lot of new experiences that could be useful for the next season, such as how to improve our stand with visual elements. Along with many new friends, we also had countless experiences, as we visited each other’s stands, gained insight into others’ innovations, exchanged pins and gifts, and conversed in English. It was a great joy for us to showcase our innovation to other nations, who gladly tested it. To our great surprise, our VUK innovation achieved 1st place, which our team could hardly believe, it was such a joy for us.” – Maja Anna Sas, Jászság Group 4
We would like to thank Dr. Sándor Csányi and Mrs. Erika Csányi, and Mr. Miklós for making our dream come true and allowing us to reach the international stage. We hope that the achieved result justifies the trust placed in us!
Pictures in the GALLERY!