TEL Robot Combat Marks a Decade of Innovation, Inspiring Students’ Passion for Technology in Taiwan

Students demonstrate advanced skills as they precisely maneuvering robots to toss discs into baskets, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

This lively scene from the 2024 TEL Robot Combat Championship captures the excitement the event brings each year. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, the Robot Combat continues to facilitate meaningful students exchanges, develop emerging technological talents, and support a promising future for the semiconductor industry.

This article has been partially modified and reprinted from PR article of Tokyo Electron Taiwan (TEL Taiwan) published on Global Views Monthly.

TEL Robot Combat

As the global semiconductor industry experiences rapid growth, AI and robotics have reached unprecedented heights, driving a surging demand for skilled professionals. This makes the tech industry especially appealing to young students. Tokyo Electron (TEL), is a global leading company that provides equipment for all four sequential key processes: deposition, coater/development, etch, and cleaning. TEL Taiwan offers outstanding products and technology services in Taiwan, and has consistently invested in talent cultivation by hosting TEL Robot Combat for nine consecutive years, giving students hands-on platforms to apply and expand their knowledge.

TEL Robot Combat Highlights Industry Trends and Fosters Academic Collaboration

Modern life heavily relies on semiconductor-driven technologies, with TEL playing a key role in driving innovations. Committed to developing future tech leaders, TEL Taiwan integrates technology into education by annually hosting Robot Combat with dynamic, innovative themes reflecting current trends. While early competitions focused on assembly, combat, and linear navigation, recent editions now emphasize automation control and remote visual operation, bridging academia with industry needs in fields like AI, 5G, and IoT. These events ignite students’ creativity through diverse and challenging tasks.

Each year, TEL Taiwan organizes a two-month campus tour across Taiwan, engaging directly with students, addressing their questions, and sparking enthusiasm for technology and innovation. To date, these outreach efforts have impacted over 52,000 students, with nearly 3,000 participating in competitions.

Perfect Integration of Theory and Practice – Enhancing Practical Skill -

Participants in the competition are tasked with designing and building robots, programming software, and effectively managing hardware and software to overcome competition challenges. Beyond technical skills, teams that pass the initial round must showcase their robot designs and innovative ideas on Presentation Day. This phase assesses their soft skills—essential for advancement to the finals—through presentations evaluated by a panel comprising esteemed professors from Taiwan's robotics academia and engineering experts from TEL Taiwan. These interactions reinforce the connection between theoretical knowledge and practical expertise.

Presentation Day also helps students develop critical soft skills, including effective communication, professional demeanor, and composure under pressure. Through rigorous questioning by judges, students improve their ability to manage stress, and increase their comprehensive robotics knowledge, significantly boosting their problem-solving abilities and employment prospects.

A Generous Prize for The Winning Team

TEL Taiwan invests heavily in developing future talent, offering annual prize money and robot-building subsidies exceeding one million Taiwanese dollars, drawing numerous participants from related disciplines. In addition to hands-on experience, participants gain invaluable insights into TEL's operations. To mark TEL’s 60th anniversary in 2023, the winning team received a special invitation to tour TEL’s Miyagi plant in Japan, exploring advanced production facilities, interacting with cutting-edge AI technologies, and enjoying exceptional amenities at one of TEL's welfare facilities including five-star dining and hot springs. Students found the employee benefits particularly inspiring, fueling aspirations toward careers in global tech companies in Japan.

Science Education Activities Spark Public Interest in Technology

The Robot Combat targets both university students and the wider public, bridging the gap between society and technology. TEL Taiwan hosts numerous interactive science education activities onsite, such as board games, VR experiences, amateur robot battles, and robotic arm operations, enabling children and the general public to engage hands-on with robotics. TEL Taiwan notably invites renowned Japanese humanoid robot teams to Taiwan, showcasing exciting robot wrestling matches and brainwave-controlled robot interactions, significantly enhancing the event’s educational value and appeal. These immersive experiences effectively spark children’s interest in science and technology.

A Decade of Innovation

With over sixty years of its history, the TEL Group maintains its commitment to societal development through cutting-edge technology and reliable service. TEL Taiwan continues to innovate, improving technological services and actively fulfilling corporate social responsibility through charitable activities like food box donation or Christmas events etc.

As the Robot Combat marks its tenth anniversary in 2025, TEL Taiwan reaffirms its dedication to connecting talent with industry opportunities, providing students early exposure to the technology sector. We will continue to cultivate talent, strengthen academia-industry collaborations, enhance science education, and promote foundational technology training, propelling innovation and excellence into the future.