Clacton-on-Sea, UK – Pickering Group has announced that Daniel Hubáček, a recent graduate of the local Třinec high school, has won the competition to build a PickBot robot, aimed at students and held as part of the Invent Arena technology, science and innovation fair in the Czech Republic.
Pickering Group has a large manufacturing business in the Třinec region, employing more than 400 people in the production of Pickering Electronics’ reed relays, Pickering Interfaces’ modular systems for signal switching and simulation and software for use in electronics testing, and cable and connector solutions for its connectivity division, Pickering Connect. The three group companies collaborated to create the ‘Build Your Own PickBot’ competition to raise the company’s profile, particularly among students in technical fields. Comments Anna Říhová, Pickering Czech Republic’s Communications and HR Marketing Specialist: “We wanted students to experience the creativity and problem solving involved in engineering, while introducing them to the career opportunities available locally. We engaged with students primarily through social media for six months, culminating in the contest at Invent Arena.”
Each student team received an electronics kit from Pickering which, over the course of a month, they used to assemble, program and eventually guide their remote-controlled robot around an obstacle course on the show floor. During development, students were encouraged to chat with Pickering’s engineers for advice. Entries were evaluated over several categories including creativity, custom software, aesthetic design and speed on the track. It wasn’t just the students who were excited about Pickering’s PickBot competition; other visitors to the event were also able to try out Pickering’s track with their own robots. Younger visitors from elementary schools were also able to try driving Pickering’s models on the track.
The winner, Daniel Hubáček with his entry, Joker Junior, received – appropriately enough – a 3D printer.
