The team will be pitting their prototype made from LEGO MINDSTORMS called Equinox Metropolitan against teams from 70 other countries.
The project, aimed at addressing road safety issues for road users utilises the IoT (Internet of Things) technology to control traffic lights at junctions by transmitting signals to and from vehicles to control their velocity as they near traffic lights.
The students attribute their success to guidance from UEM Edgenta Berhad on what constitutes a Smart City in Malaysia and the potential problems they could help overcome with their project.
“We are grateful to the people at UEM Edgenta for their guidance and for making us see what are the potential challenges a smart city in Malaysia could face. With the information we got, we came up with the idea for the project,” said Loo, 16, the sole female participant in the team.
UEM Edgenta will also be taking care of the cost of transportation and logistics for the upcoming international robotics challenge in Hungary.
As part of the F1 in School activity, Team Vencera made up of six fourth formers at Pusat GENIUS@pintar Negara won the Best Research and Development Award, Best Engineering Award, and Best Presentation Award to emerge National Champions in 2019.
With that, the team won themselves the opportunity to represent Malaysia in the World Final F1 in School in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi at the end of November.
However, taking the prototype to compete in Abu Dhabi fell on the shoulders of the juniors next in line as the original team that won the National Championship had the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations to sit for come November.
Realising how costly it is to enter an international competition with a prototype racing car, Team Vencera set about looking for sponsors to finance their entry.
They succeeded in convincing six sponsors that included the Education Ministry, Petronas, and Yayasan Pahang among others.
“We had to make sure our car could go fast and be stable. To achieve that, the choice of material is very important and can be very expensive, which was why we needed to get funders for our team participation,” said Nur Afiqah Zulkarnain, 16, of Team Vencera.
National GENIUS@pintar College, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia director, Professor Datuk Dr Noriah Mohd Ishak said: “I am proud of the two teams’ achievements at the national level and for making it to the international level, namely at the World Robotics Olympiad in Hungary and the World Final F1 in School in Abu Dhabi.
“From the start when the clubs were formed, our students have worked hard to try to win at every level. They also strived hard to be able to compete at the international level, before finally getting their first chance in 2015.
“The continuous effort by the students have made success possible and for the succeeding generations to continue the legacy,” she added.