Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
RS Components (RS) took its mobile interactive technology truck Titan II to the national final of the UK Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge, held at the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire, for which RS was the Official Technical Partner.
The event saw more than 140 talented 11-19 year-old student teams from England, Scotland and Wales compete, showcasing their challenge entries after designing and building radio controlled four-wheel drive vehicles, which were put through their paces on a challenging off-road test track. These teams had already competed in regional heats, where all aspects of their project were assessed, with the best progressing to this national final.
RS supported the challenge with a donation of Arduino starter kits, and sponsored the Innovative Thinking Award, which was presented to Team Ignition at the awards ceremony by Luke Biddle, Director of Marketing, Northern Europe. Luke also formed part of the judging panel alongside RS colleagues James Howarth, Leonie Clayson, Mark James and Simon Lummis. As well as expert driving skills, the students’ engineering abilities and coding skills were tested by the expert panel of judges.
The UK champions who won the national title accolade were Edge 4×4. They will go on to represent their country at the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools World Finals later this year, as well as winning an Arkwright Scholarship and a £1,000 Harper Adams university scholarship.
James said: “We’d like to congratulate the winners for their outstanding entry. Having been involved in this challenge for several years, we never fail to be surprised with the innovative approach of the student teams and the high calibre of their entries. This kind of competition helps promote engineering in an engaging way, which is something RS firmly believes in and supports these young engineers of tomorrow. This is why it was great to take the truck along to the event to further inspire the students about a career in engineering.”
The 35-tonne Titan II truck includes technologies such as RS’ DesignSpark platform, Raspberry Pi, 3D printing, robotics, Internet of Things and thermal imaging – as well as virtual reality and augmented reality technology to really bring innovation to life.
