On September 27, 2024, the 2024 ABB Cup Intelligent Technology Innovation Competition, jointly organized by ABB and the Chinese Society of Automation, came to a successful conclusion. The award ceremony was held at the ABB booth of the China International Industry Expo. Since its launch in early April, the competition has attracted a total of 472 teams to participate, with a total of over 1200 people. After intense competition in the preliminary and final rounds, a total of 23 outstanding teams stood out and swept the top three in four competitions.

The theme of this innovation competition is “Intelligent Technology Leads the Future”, with four tracks focusing on key technology fields related to intelligent manufacturing such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, data modeling, and human-computer interaction. The aim is to guide young scientific and technological talents to apply what they have learned, solve specific industrial problems, and cultivate outstanding new forces of engineers with both innovative spirit and practical ability.

Dr. Gu Chunyuan, Chairman of ABB China, delivered a speech at the award ceremony, congratulating the participating students on their courage to innovate and challenge themselves, demonstrating the outstanding talents and enormous potential of contemporary students. He said, “In the fields of automation and electrical engineering, China is one of the countries with the most active development of emerging technologies and the most diverse application scenarios in the world. I am pleased to see that the ‘ABB Cup’ Innovation Competition has undergone nearly 20 years of development, constantly iterating and upgrading, closely following the forefront trends of the industry, integrating into real application scenarios, opening up new tracks, polishing new topics, and inspiring more and more young talents to actively engage in innovative practices and explore the future of technology with enthusiasm. ”

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Dr. Zhang Nan, Secretary General of the Chinese Society of Automation, was invited to attend the ceremony. In her speech, she said, “As China accelerates the implementation of its innovation driven development strategy and promotes the process of new industrialization, we urgently need a large number of top-notch innovative and application-oriented high skilled talents who possess solid professional knowledge and comprehensive practical abilities. As an important social force in the fields of automation, information and intelligent technology, the Chinese Society of Automation and ABB work closely together, relying on the advantages of industry university research collaboration, continuously expanding the competition platform, stimulating the innovation vitality of scientific and technological talents, guiding young students to acquire knowledge, promoting interdisciplinary integration and application, and building a foundation for innovation and creation. ”

The ABB Cup Innovation Competition also received strong support from the Swiss Embassy and Consulate in China. Swiss Consul General in Shanghai, Kevin Shao, stated that the ABB Cup Innovation Competition embodies Switzerland’s innovative philosophy and creates a vibrant ecosystem to inspire and showcase the vibrant creativity of young people.

As a leading enterprise in emerging technology fields, ABB has been driving the transformation and development of numerous industries in China and around the world. Wishing ABB continued success on the path of innovation and congratulating all participants! Through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration, we can harness the power of technology to create a better and more sustainable future for everyone. ”

Competition Question 1: Cyber Building Blocks – AI Control Application Based on the “Amphibious” Operating System of B&R

This set of competition questions focuses on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, and IoT integration, carefully designed to simulate complex challenges in actual industrial applications, effectively stimulating the innovation enthusiasm of young students. The participating students, with their in-depth understanding of IT software, closely integrated with the industrial control software Automation Studio of B&R, demonstrating innovative thinking and brilliant creativity. The contestants delved deeply into the competition topic, keenly capturing new trends in industrial development, laying a solid foundation for entering society and promoting technological innovation in the future.

In the end, after intense defense and strict evaluation in the finals, the project proposal of Zhang Deping, Yan Tao, and Zhan Yueling’s team (guided by Luo Min) from Southwest Petroleum University performed excellently in image processing, motion control, communication debugging, and human-computer interface design, demonstrating a profound interpretation of the competition topic and clear and comprehensive thinking and presentation, winning the first prize. Another three teams won second and third prizes, and three teams won the Excellence Award.

Question 2: Defending the Vanguard – Intelligent Fault Monitoring of Electric Motors Based on Deep Learning

This competition aims to improve the reliability and efficiency of motors. Participants are required to provide motor application data based on ABB, solve problems such as signal processing, feature extraction, and image recognition, and establish a motor rotor fracture monitoring model based on fault mechanisms, machine learning, and deep learning techniques. The results will be provided based on the validation set data. The participating teams have shown outstanding performance in feature engineering, deep learning algorithm applications, and practical scenario verification. By exploring different technical paths and algorithms, the contestants contribute to the development of industrial fault diagnosis technology.

The team led by Teng Chao, Lian Yake, and Zhu Qixiang from Xi’an Jiaotong University (supervised by Yan Ruqiang) stood out with their innovation and effective application in three-phase current fusion method, demonstrating their significant advantages in improving fault diagnosis accuracy and anti-interference ability. They received high praise from the judges and won the first prize; Another 5 teams won second and third prizes, and 24 teams won the Excellence Award.

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Topic 3: Exploration of Interconnection – Innovation of Digital Interconnection Applications between Robots and PLCs

This competition focuses on efficient communication between robots and PLCs. Participants use ABB robot simulation software RobotStudio, various PLC simulation software, and advanced digital tools to design simulation application cases that are both realistic and highly realistic, achieving OPC UA communication interaction between robots and PLCs. The overall technical content of the entries is high and innovative, reflecting the contestants’ precise control of details and pursuit of efficiency in every aspect from intelligent warehousing, automated assembly to precision machining.

The team led by Zeng Rongbin and Lin Jun from Shenzhen Information Vocational and Technical College (under the guidance of Xie Peng) vividly constructed a high fidelity robot simulation reality on the ABB RobotStudio platform. They ingeniously built a communication bridge between Berkeley and third-party PLCs to RobotStudio, allowing data and instructions to freely shuttle between virtual and reality. With the help of self-developed upper computer software, they achieved all-round control of the robot workstation, standing out in fierce competition and winning the first prize of the competition; Another 8 teams won second and third prizes, and 12 teams won the Excellence Award.

Question 4: Smart Fusion – When Robots Encounter Mobile Devices

The integration of mobile devices and robots greatly enhances the perception and adaptability of robots, and provides strong support for their mobile interconnection and intelligent interaction. The participants of this competition showcased excellent ideas in integrating robots with mobile devices, creatively solving the challenges in the evolution of robots. Their research directions cover key technological fields such as robot control, mobile communication, intelligent manufacturing, ecological energy, and environmental detection. By combining the voice input, camera, touch screen, and communication capabilities of robots and mobile devices, they have solved a series of important technical issues including robot teaching, trajectory planning, AI and big language models, fault diagnosis, and predictive maintenance. This demonstrates a serious and responsible quality and a high level of completion, which to some extent promotes the further development of robot technology.

In the end, after fierce competition and strict evaluation, Gao Hongbin (advisor: Jia Zixi) from Northeastern University won the first prize. The work uses voice from mobile devices as input to receive instructions, and fully explores innovative technologies such as cloud technology and big language models, exploring the perfect integration of artificial intelligence and robotic arm control technology, promoting the next generation of robot perception and interaction technology, demonstrating a very high degree of work completion and excellent commercial potential. Another three teams won second and third prizes, and three teams won the Excellence Award.

The innovation competition not only provides an open platform for participating students to showcase their creativity and improve themselves, but also offers multi-faceted support for students to hone their thinking and apply what they have learned. In addition to providing software tools and training materials related to the competition, the organizing committee also held multiple online live broadcasts and offline campus exchanges, inviting experts and teachers from universities and enterprises to conduct competition topic analysis, technical training, and interactive Q&A. The award-winning student representatives were also invited to visit ABB’s factory in Shanghai and the ABB booth at the China International Industry Fair, to get up close and understand the latest technological trends, accumulate innovative practical experience, and lay a solid foundation for future participation in technological transformation and industrial development.

The ABB Cup Intelligent Technology Innovation Competition is jointly organized by ABB and the Chinese Society of Automation, and has received strong support from industry associations, industry experts, and the Swiss Embassy in China. Over the past 19 years, more than 20000 participants have participated. The competition is committed to cultivating compound innovative talents and applied talents in new engineering fields, communicating with industry, academia, research and application, and working together with all sectors to promote the digital and intelligent transformation and high-quality development of the industry.
Click to view the complete list of awards.

ABB is a technology leader in the field of electrical and automation, committed to empowering a more sustainable and efficient future. ABB integrates engineering experience and software technology into solutions to optimize manufacturing, transportation, energy, and operations. Adhering to over 130 years of outstanding history, ABB’s approximately 105000 employees worldwide are dedicated to driving innovation and accelerating industrial transformation. ABB has comprehensive business activities in China, including research and development, manufacturing, sales, and engineering services. It has 27 local enterprises and 15000 employees in nearly 130 cities, with online and offline channels covering approximately 700 cities across the country.