UBC engineering students’ robots cook up a storm at annual competition
Fifteen teams of robot chefs, meticulously built within six weeks by UBC engineering physics students, faced off in a cooking showdown today.
In an arena inspired by the popular video game Overcooked, each team’s pair of fully autonomous robots chopped, cooked and dished as many food orders as they could within two minutes.
“The students have been averaging about 12 hours per day in the lab and it’s incredible to see the progress they’ve made,” said Dr. Andre Marziali, Director of Engineering Physics.
Presentation is everything
Recipes varied in difficulty, from a simple order of French fries to a deluxe cheeseburger complete with lettuce and tomato. The more complicated the recipe, the more points students earned.
Speed and complexity were not the only factors however, as judges also eat with their eyes: some teams lost points for messy plating, and the robot chefs who went above and beyond in presentation even received tips (in the form of additional points).
Robot pairs varied in strategies, such as using claws or vacuums to grab ingredients. Some robots seemed to have minds of their own, spinning in circles or dramatically dropping burgers onto the kitchen floor. One robot took a swing at a nearby student, who ducked out of the way and received a roar from the crowd.
The finals ended in a photo finish. Both Team 2 and Team 15 raced to make three deluxe burgers at the same breakneck speed. As the clock ticked down to the final seconds, both teams placed down their fourth burger—with Team 15's just a hair outside of the serving area, as the crowd erupted into cheers and groans.
The start of a successful career
For students, participating in exciting events like this offers more than just fun and the ability to add a burger-flipping robot to their resume.
“For some of them, this is the first time they’ve used hand tools, and now they’ve built fully autonomous machines that can collaborate with each other and interact with the world,” said Dr. Marziali.
The annual event is the final project for the summer term course ENPH 253: Introduction to Instrument Design, where students learn all about engineering design and instrument development.
“The complexity of the robots has gone way up,” said Justin Ho, an Engineering Physics alumnus who competed 20 years ago and was impressed by this year's competition. He and other alumni attending this year commented on how most labs in their experience were theoretical, while this course put knowledge into practice.
Dr. Marziali has seen what students have accomplished beyond this event, and understands the advantages in building these crucial skills early.
“Our students go on to work in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, spacecraft design and biotech, all fields that require a deep understanding of physics combined with practical engineering skills.”
Last year’s future spacecraft engineers raced their robots Mario Kart-style, and another year saw an Avengers-themed battle. With these events, the Engineering Physics Project Lab is helping students build a skillset that will carry them to careers at the forefront of technology, while making incredibly fun memories.
