Research

In June 2016, the Thanh Nien newspaper published a story about an eighth-grader with no hands who used a plastic pipe to draw his dreams. At that time, Phan Trong Hieu, who lives in the Dai Loc district of Quang Nam province, received much sympathy and words of encouragement from the readers. He’d lost most of his right hand and part of his left when a bomb suddenly exploded in a meadow four years previously.

In April 2017, Phan Trong Hieu’s came into the news again when he was fitted with a robotic arm, a surprise gift from the DTU Robotic Arm team. The original plastic pipe concept and the new robotic idea were separated by a technological gulf, but shared the same honorable intentions. 

 

Phan Trong Hieu and Trang Dang Khoa, another sixth-grader from the Dai Loc district, received their first arms at the same time. Hieu’s was a fourth-generation version, the research group are continuing their work, and, in about four months, they will deliver a refined fifth-generation version, that is even more esthetic and confidence-inspiring.

The research group of six, led by Dang Ngoc Sy, Vice-Director of the DTU Center for Electricity and Electronics, are all younger than 35, and the Robitica team are now famous. They began with their Robocon contest project and won a prize with their first outstanding, autonomous robot in 2013.

With his robotic arms for the disabled, Pham Huy, an eleventh-grader from Quang Tri province, won third prize at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), organized by Intel in the US. Starting his research in tenth-grade, this son of a bicycle repairman invented robotic arms that simulated the movement of human arms, and a cart controlled by Bluetooth.

What is the similarity between the DTU research group, Pham Huy, and those like Nguyen Hoang Nam in Tra Vinh province, who only finished junior high school but has become an expert in robots for sewer maintenance? It is their undying thirst for innovation to serve their local communities. For example, Mr. Nam’s idea of creating a robot that can replace six or seven people first came when he saw workers worming their way through sewer pipes when he was working in HCM city. 

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is integrating the physical, digital and biological worlds, as quoted by Klaus Schwab, founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. In Vietnam, the younger generation is becoming more motivated. Robots and robotic arms are ageless and can only be assessed by their artificial intelligence. “Young Robots” is the definition of their products, which blend intellect with emotion. We should all awaken their passion and arouse their emotions.