Day 2 (15 Jan - Robot Control Match)

We were extremely excited today! It was the day for our first competition of this trip - Robot Control Match. After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning and the entire afternoon preparing our robots and devising strategies for the competition. We fine-tuned our robots, tested and resolved the problems encountered together, with the help of our instructors, Mr. Santoz and Mr. Keane.

The Robot Control competiton consisted of 2 levels - Elimination Match and Final Match.

Our school fielded 5 teams comprising 2 members in each team - Pranav and Sean, Brandon and James, Xue Zhe and Timothy, Faris and James, and Shashank and Vivek. All 5 teams did extremely well and made it through the first round of the Elimination Match.

At the end of the Elimination Match, 3 teams were qualified for the Final Match - Brandon and James, Xue Zhe and Timothy, and Faris and James. Finally, Faris and James had done the school proud by winning a bronze in the Robot Control competition. Hurray!

After the Final Match, the participants were given some time to relax before meeting again for dinner and the construction of their Battle Robot for tomorrow's competition. We went for another snow playing session and had great fun. Check out what the boys did to their instructors!

The last programme for today was to build our battle robots for tomorrow's competition. Here are some photos of the boys at work before they call it a day.

Lastly, the boys would like to let their family know that they have read their comments on the blogsite and are adapting well to the environment in Korea. They will take good care of themselves =)

Day 1 (14 Jan - Arrival and Registration)

Brr... The cold weather greeted us as we arrived at Seoul in the early morning. We had a light breakfast at the airport before setting off to Hanyang University Engineering College, Ansan campus.

We checked into our rooms in the dormitory and proceeded to have our lunch in the dining hall. Look at how these boys enjoyed their food:

We had a short rest after our lunch and the boys suggested to go for a snow-playing session outdoors. Look at how much fun they had!

Listen to what some of the boys said:

Faris: Ma! It's me, Faris! This place is so cold! Anyway, I would like to see you soon!

James: Hallow, Mom and Dad. It is so cold. Love you all.

Vivek: I like being in Korea as it snows here and you can play with the snow!

After the fun, we attended an informative lecture before adjourning for dinner and followed by the robot-making session. We built our robots and tested them before retiring for the night. It was a tiring but enjoyable day!

Day 0 (13 Jan 2009) - Setting off to Korea

Finally, the day which we have been anticipating for is here! Everyone is looking forward to participate in Asia Pacific Robofest 2009 ! We are going to take the flight to Seoul, Korea in 3 hours' time and we could barely contain our excitement! Here's our group photo before setting off to the airport.

Check out our excited looks onboard the flight:

But not long after, we were all in deep slumber till we reached Seoul, Korea at 5.25 a.m..

Day 3 (16 Jan 2009) - Opening Ceremony

It was snowing after we had our breakfast! The boys enjoyed watching the snow fall and had a good time playing in the snow before we proceeded to the Opening Ceremony of Robofest 2009.

We continued with the second part of the competition today - Battle Robot Match. Our team was very motivated to achieve better results after our bronze in yesterday's match. The boys spent half of the day to prepare their robots for the 'battle. Here are some photos of them hard at work.

At 3pm, the competition began. The teams from Singapore first had to compete among themselves before proceeding to the final round. The 2best teams from PEPS will then compete against the other 4 teams - namely 2 teams from Maris Stella High School and 2 teams from Korea to fight for the top 3 prizes.

After the elimination round, our 2 best teams finally emerged - Sean and Pranav, and Brandon and Faris. They were extremely nervous for the match!

Finally, we managed to secure a gold for PEPS! We made it! We came in first for Battle Robot Match! Hurray!

After the match, the boys went back to have a short rest before proceeding to dinner and the friendship event at night. They had a lot of fun participating in the activities and mingling with pupils from other countries as well as Singapore. They even put up an item for the event. They sang 'We will get there' together as they felt that the song could fully relate their feelings for the competition. We really 'got' there - the finals! =)

We would like all parents to note that we may not be able to update this blog after 17 Jan as we will be moving into the hotel till we return to Singapore on 19 Jan. This is because we may not be given internet access in the hotel rooms. We seek your understanding on this matter. Should you need to contact your child, you can reach him via the hotel number.