Build Your Own Autonomous RC Car and Drone! ... UNIST Hosts 'STEM Camp'

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) held a special camp where participants could directly create autonomous vehicles, drones, robots, and more.

UNIST hosted a STEM camp on campus from July 31 to August 5. The camp was attended by 60 first- and second-year students from 25 high schools in the Ulsan area.

The camp was designed to provide experiential education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields for future talents who will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. Previously, the program was operated for national science high schools, but this year it was expanded for the first time to general high schools in the Ulsan region.

Participating students carried out practical project tasks on topics such as autonomous RC cars, automobiles, artificial intelligence, drones, hexapod robots, and big data. They also acquired knowledge to build drones and autonomous vehicles through an eight-week online theoretical course conducted in advance.

Students are building RC cars themselves.

On the 4th, students publicly showcased their self-made autonomous vehicles, drones, robots, and app designs via a YouTube live broadcast. The demonstration video can be viewed again on the Leadership Center’s YouTube channel.

Juhwan Jeong, a student from Gangnam High School who participated in the camp, said, “I have dreamed of becoming an automobile engineer since I was young, so it was a great experience to actually build a car myself. I also made good friends and was satisfied with the special activity programs and mentor lectures, so I definitely want to participate again.”

Mentor Youngseok Lee from UNIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, who guided the participating students, said, “I was amazed by the students’ level and passion. It was a rewarding time to help younger students by applying the major knowledge learned at school.”

The UNIST Leadership Center operates various experiential programs for youth in collaboration with local governments to nurture scientific talents in the Ulsan region. Representative programs include the ‘Hi-Leader Camp’ and the ‘Dream Science Camp,’ which are run in cooperation with Ulju County and Buk-gu, respectively.

The program runs a mentoring team composed of UNIST students to provide professional guidance to participating middle and high school students.

Participants of the STEM camp are taking a commemorative photo after the demonstration event.