Cho Seong EunWe were told that teams of close friends would be considered, so Hye-joo, Seo-hyeon, and I formed a team of three. Later, Jung Ji Unand Kim Won Jaejoined, making us a five member team. For the team name, we wanted something clever using numbers and incorporated the idea of overtaking.

Kim Won JaeLooking back, we really lived up to the name. Robocon has preliminary rounds followed by finals. We faced strong teams in the preliminaries and lost every match. Fortunately, our cumulative score was high enough to advance, and in the finals we staged a dramatic comeback and overtook our opponents—just like our name suggests.

Cho Seong EunThe competition theme was F1 racing. But it wasn’t just about speed; the key was how precisely you could perform maintenance during the race.

Park Seo HyunIn the F1 analogy, the driving robot was the race car, while the engineer robot was the mechanic, replacing parts after each lap.

Yoon Hye JooSince different parts had different point values, focusing on the more difficult ones was advantageous. Ultimately, the competition came down to how many challenging parts you could replace.

Kim Won JaeThe purpose of the class isn’t to acquire and apply knowledge. It’s to make us dive in headfirst. Instead of telling us what to do, the professor created an environment where we could find answers ourselves. We were given equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters, plus materials like wires and batteries, and encouraged to go ahead and make whatever we wanted.

Cho Seong EunFirst, the professor asked us to design a gripper. Then we had to turn that design into a physical object using wood or plastic. The key was whether it could pick things up. Later, team tasks included new weekly challenges like building a car and making it run smoothly on rails. While winning Robocon mattered, our final grade combined individual and team task scores. Fortunately, all our team members earned perfect scores throughout, which gave us a strong foundation.

Yoon Hye JooAll the students in the class were incredibly talented, so it was impossible to predict who would win. We didn’t assign fixed roles. We shared the entire process in real time, refining and creating together.

Park Seo HyunOther teams divided tasks—one person handled the arm, another the driving robot. But we worked on everything together. It meant more meetings and longer discussions, but because everyone understood the problems, we had a wider range of ideas. After class, we met every day from afternoon until late at night to discuss and revise.

Jung Ji UnWe spent hours—sometimes days—tracking down tiny errors. Even a single misaligned wire could stop the robot in the finals, so we prioritized stability, securing all wiring with a glue gun.

Park Seo HyunThe two key factors were how fast the car moved and how stably the arms grasped. Designing two arms to increase work speed was especially effective.

Cho Seong EunWe originally designed the robotic arm with six joints but reinforced it by stacking motors to increase stability. If too much force is applied, a motor can lose power entirely. The fact that we avoided those issues likely influenced the outcome.

Cho Seong EunAt first, many teams built robots with two arms, but during the mid term evaluation, doubts arose: Is this really necessary? The two arm structure seemed to slow the driving speed, and it didn’t offer clear advantages at the time. Seeing other teams switch to single arm designs made us hesitate. But we decided to stop theorizing and actually test it. The results convinced us to keep the dual arm structure. In the finals, it became our unique strength.

Kim Won JaeThe highest scoring maintenance task was spoiler assembly. We had to precisely attach a partially disassembled spoiler using neodymium magnets. Our dual arm robot handled this flawlessly, letting us widen the score gap significantly.

Yoon Hye JooI often asked myself how I could operate the robot more stably. For example, if the arm lacked strength, the tip would shake. That question led us to install dual motors.

Cho Seong EunI double checked everything, even when inserting a wire, worrying it might short out. However, I didn’t make decisions, or even small adjustments like raising the arm by 1 cm, alone. As we asked each other what if we tried this, unexpected and better solutions emerged. This robot is the result of countless team questions and deliberations.

Jung Ji UnIf you approach everything theoretically, you assume it will work perfectly. But once you apply it in the field, you discover variables and problems. We’re proud that we learned to bridge that gap by tackling it directly.

Cho Seong EunSpending a semester with the encouragement to just try things transformed my vague fear of engineering into confidence. Experiencing firsthand that something I only imagined theoretically actually works gave me a sense of assurance that I can solve problems on my own.

Yoon Hye JooI had many worries about my career path, but this course helped me decide. If any freshmen feel uncertain about their future, I highly recommend taking it.

Park Seo HyunBuilding robots was so much fun that it sparked a desire to create more specialized robots in the future. I realized how much more engineering knowledge I need, so I’m motivated to study my major seriously in my sophomore year.

Kim Won JaeEven while attending medical school, I always dreamed of engineering. I came to the engineering college half doubting, half believing whether I could do well. Unlike studying alone with books, actually interacting with people and creating something made me feel that I was truly here now. That sense of identity suddenly became clear.