2021 CanSat Competition Chungnam National University and Chungbuk Science High School Teams Win

Award Ceremony Hosted by Ministry of Science and ICT Held on the 27th

▲Can Satellite.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] This year, Chungnam National University and Chungbuk Science High School teams won the 'CanSat Competition' held for students.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, together with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Satellite Research Center, held the '2021 CanSat Competition' at the Government Sejong Complex on the 27th.

This competition involves elementary, middle, high school, and university students directly manufacturing and launching a simulated satellite (CanSat) the size of a beverage can, and operating it. It was held to increase interest and understanding of space. Starting in 2012, this year marked the 10th event. This year, 146 elementary and middle school students (73 teams), 87 high school students (29 teams), and 54 university students (18 teams) from across the country participated, showing great enthusiasm.

Ultimately, five final teams each from the intelligence and creative categories (a total of 10 teams) were selected. The grand prize winners were the Chungbuk Science High School 'CanIf (Catnip)' team and Chungnam National University 'C.O.Me' team, who received the Minister of Science and ICT Award on the day.

The Catnip team performed the mission of 'video-based altitude measurement and fall prediction,' measuring the distance between objects and suggesting the expected landing location using footage captured as the CanSat descended. Chungnam National University's 'C.O.Me (Challenge Of Mechatronics)' team carried out the mission of 'wide-area video observation,' unfolding multiple cameras controlled by air pressure using air muscles and capturing video.

The Excellence Award (KAIST President's Award) went to Chungnam Science High School 'Callus' team, Korea Science Academy of KAIST 'Now you see me, can' team, Pusan National University 'PRO_SAT' team, and Hanseo University 'NTN IoT' team. The Encouragement Award (Korea Aerospace Research Institute Director's Award) was given to Chungbuk Science High School 'GCP' team, Korea Science Academy of KAIST 'SATTMAP' team, KAIST 'LinkUs' team, and Chungnam National University 'Eagle Eye' team.

A KAIST Satellite Research Center official, who organized the competition, said, "It was a difficult year due to COVID-19, but we successfully completed the competition thanks to the students' enthusiasm," and evaluated, "This competition stood out with various ideas such as 'multi-video shooting and synthesis,' 'object recognition and fall location estimation through AI,' and 'aviation security and jamming,' which can be applied to actual satellite development."