For their expertise in computer science, electrical engineering and information and communication technology (ICT), four TU Ilmenau students were awarded 1st prize at the "Hard & Soft 2025" computers competition at Stefan cel Mare University in Suceava, Romania. Within four days, the interdisciplinary team developed a solution to the challenge "Smart Wheels: Navigating the Future with Analog Sensors and Ethical Hacking", beating 15 other international teams.
When Lydia Jordan, Master’s student in Electrical Engineering , Matthias Misar, graduate student in Electrical Engineering, Jakob Rinke, Bachelor’s student in Computer Science , and Muhammad Ozair, Master’s student in Research in Computer and Systems Engineering (RCSE ), set off for Suceava to compete against teams from China, Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine from May 11 to 18, they had no idea what task awaited them. It was not until Monday morning that the challenge became clear: Their task was to write control software for the robot vehicle "MentorPi M1" that would enable the robot to navigate autonomously through an unknown labyrinth.
"We also received various sensor modules: an ultrasonic sensor, a Hall effect sensor, two vibration sensors and an alcohol sensor," explains Matthias Misar:
In addition to navigating through the labyrinth, our robot had to solve other tasks and display the associated events on a web platform that also had to be developed: Speed bumps had to be documented as they were crossed, shot glasses placed in the labyrinth had to be checked for their contents and the correct exit had to be identified using a magnetic field.
But that was not all, according to the electrical engineering student: "We also had to protect the entire system from unauthorized access by other teams. From Thursday onwards, we were allowed to earn bonus points by finding security vulnerabilities in other teams’ systems." Furthermore, the team had to submit a document with an initial draft solution to the jury on Tuesday morning, followed by documentation of the final solution on Friday morning.
While the students received stretegic advice from Junior Professor Florian Klingler, Head of the IoT Engineering department at TU Ilmenau, via video conference on the first day of the competition, the competition rules required them to work independently from Tuesday onwards.
Technical knowledge, practical skills and team cohesion
The Ilmenau team was accompanied by Dr Heiner Dintera from the International Office at TU Ilmenau, who organized the trip as part of the DAAD’s Eastern Partnerships program. "The great team effort of our students paid off," says Dr. Dintera:
At the final presentation, in which the robot had to be placed in an unknown labyrinth and find its way out, the students from TU Ilmenau were the only team whose robot vehicle found the correct exit.
The robot was also able to recognize two speed bumps on the way with the additional sensors and correctly identify a shot glass filled with alcohol. "After our robot’s successful journey, some of the students from the other teams approached us about our good performance," reports Matthias Misar: "We had an intensive discussion about the various solutions. It became clear that the other teams were struggling with challenges similar to ours."
Despite these challenges, the team from Ilmenau ended up in first place with a remarkable 171 out of 200 points. In addition to the success in solving the labyrinth and the final presentation, the assessment also took into account the documentation of the concept, the team’s work ethic and their appearance when the jury visited the laboratory.
"The task required extensive technical knowledge, practical skills, team cohesion and the ability to solve problems under pressure," says Dr. Dintera. The four students met these challenges with great commitment and determination: "The day before the presentation, they worked all night to prepare the robot for its task." Prof. Klingler shares this impression:
It is very remarkable to see the dedication with which our team has devoted itself to this task - from Tuesday onwards without any further specialist supervision, working independently as a team. This shows that the TU Ilmenau provides its students with a solid education.
Student Jakob Rinke sums up:
’The competition was a great opportunity to exchange ideas with technology enthusiasts from other countries and we would like to thank Stefan cel Mare University Suceava and all the teachers, students and volunteers involved for hosting this fantastic competition. Solving this complex task as a team taught us at least as much as a whole semester’s worth of lectures. In addition to the intensive technical work, our team also had the opportunity to gain a little insight into Romanian culture and enjoy the great hospitality of the Romanians. Multumesc!
