Automation and control solutions company Festo reports that it continues
 to help deal with the prevalent skills shortage in industries such as hydraulics and pneumatics, in Southern Africa, through its endorsement and sponsorship of intertertiary competitions.

The company, which supplies pneumatic 
products to a number of industries, is 
involved in the Cyber Junkyard Challenge, a mechatronics competition, which requires the incorporation of a multitude of mechanical, electrical and information technology (IT) skills.

This year’s competition, which is known as ‘Play the game. Save the planet’, has been themed to tie in with the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament and has a focus on sustainable energy. The organisers plan to showcase the entries to the public at a number of big-screen fan parks during the games.

This year’s Cyber Junkyard Challenge will include a number of institutions from sub-Saharan Africa, including the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology and the Copperbelt University of Zambia. Institutions from South Africa include Tshwane Univer-
sity of Technology, the University of Johannesburg, Central University of Tech-nology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, North West University, Durban University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Northlink College and Mangosuthu University of Technology.

Entrants for the challenge will be required to construct a high-tech mobile demonstration unit, which needs to precisely, but quickly, dribble a ball across a tilted, obstacle-
laden, table-mounted soccer field, using high-speed stepper motors and linear drives.

The demonstration unit will draw power from the mains supply, as well as a solar panel and buffered batteries. Users of the demonstration unit will control the mechatronic 
assembly using an industrial three-axis joystick and control buttons.

The event has been organised in conjunction with partners including electronic solutions provider Siemens and cable supplier Lapp Kabel as well as cosponsors, 
including control and automation com-
pany Westplex, aluminium extrusion company ProVey, German photovoltaic company IBC Solar and power systems manufacturer 
Blueginger.

Festo has donated mechatronics kits, which include linear belt drives, stepper 
motors, motion controllers and software, and provides training for the eleven competing 
institutions. Siemens has provided programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and software, while Lapp Kabel has provided solar panels, 
cables, connectors and energy chains. Westplex has supplied the structural frame and playing surface for the units.

Festo Didactic training and consulting manager Horst Weinert says that the Cyber Junkyard Challenge will require competitors to integrate high-end technology from various suppliers.

“Mechatronics has become a highly sought after qualification in industry. Machines have become so integrated that traditionally separate disciplines are converging to form the ‘systems thinking’ of a single mechatronics specialist. The Cyber Junkyard Challenge effectively presents competitors with challenges similar to those faced in real-world applications.

“Competing teams will be required to use a variety of skills and expertise to integrate various hi-tech components from multiple 
manufacturers. The inherent challenge is to ensure that these technologies seamlessly 
work together. Each team will need to amalgamate electrical, mechanical and IT designs with motion algorithms and PLC control to achieve a unified working system,” he 
explains.

An additional challenge for this year’s contestants is the integration of sustainable power in the form of solar energy in their designs. Contestants will need to implement effective energy management and source switchover systems to allow their units to function properly.

To achieve this, competitors will need to constantly monitor the power input from both the mains power supply and the solar panel together with the battery capacity. This will need to be done in conjunction with the monitoring of the power output to the drives, which comprise the unit.

“The emphasis is to create a unit, which is powered predominantly by solar power, with minimal demands being placed on the mains power supply. 
“With the rocketing energy prices that the world has been experiencing over the past decade, it is becoming important to investigate potential environment-friendly cost-
saving technologies for industry,” says Weinert.

Competitions, like the Cyber Junkyard Challenge, have proved to be instrumental in developing awareness around the discipline of mechatronics and its benefits to industry. The competitions also serve to increase the educational capacity of competing institutions.

Weinert explains that Festo and its partners deliver a large amount of the latest industrial equipment to participating institutions and provide intensive training in these technologies. However, this only provides a foot in the door for the competitors. To succeed in this challenge and open the doorway to industrial 
exposure require a significant investment of dedication from both students and staff. Institutions also need to be able to make significant resources available to their teams.

Competing teams are made up of three or four members. Teams have been selected based on proven ability and the potential to succeed at the event. Proven ability is based on an existing Cyber Junkyard Challenge record, while potential has been 
assessed based on a bid presentation submitted 
by the teams.

Requirements for the bid include a short project plan, which needs to outline the skills and motivation of the competitors, the 
involvement and dedication of the responsible lecturers, and the resources and capacity of the department.