The Cyber Junkyard is a project started by Siemens in 2003. It is a hands-on competition for students from the electrical, mechanical or mechatronics engineering faculties of tertiary institutions. The purpose behind the competition is to acquaint students with a wide range of automation and drives products in order to prepare them for similar types of projects expected of innovative new thinkers in the industry.
The 2005 Cyber Junkyard competition was held on Tuesday, 25 October 2005 at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park. Peter Ndoro, continuity presenter from MNET, was the MC for the event. Pete Da Silva, Siemens CEO, welcomed all the guests and the students from the various institutions of higher learning. Pete highlighted the importance of business partnering with learning institutions to ensure that learners know what to expect upon entering the industry. Roy Marcus outlined the judging criteria and the judges' observations during the judging process. The keynote speaker for the evening was Steuert Peddington from Feel Good SA.
The nature of the competition is one such that a project is proposed and constructed by student teams using a selection of Siemens A&D equipment. Training, software and support from system integrators (SIs) is also provided. Besides entering the competition, the resulting project systems are also used by the institutions at open days and for on-going laboratory research, refinement and development towards the industrialisation and commercialisation of innovative ideas.
Participants in this year's competition were from eight universities around the country. A system integrator was assigned as a consultant to the students. Siemens Automation & Drives appointed a staff member as a mentor to each university to ensure that the projects are on track and that all requirements are being met. The mentor also acted as a facilitator between the students, system integrators as well as being a primary contact back to Siemens for required information.
The team members from each institution are preferably final year students and the project - or aspects of it - contributes to their final qualification. Each team of 4-6 members is requested to be as demographically representative as possible according to the university composition. In general, the roughly 40 students who participated in this year's competition sufficiently represented our nation's diversity. It is encouraging to see that students with this level of exposure will be heading into industry in the near future.
This year, for the first time, the competition was opened up to non-final year students. Participants ranged from students who have completed second year studies right up to post-graduate and doctorate students.
The key judging criteria was predominantly the packing-to-warehouse and retrieval-for-delivery speed of the mechanical system. As always, there was a scope for innovation, both mechanically and in the PLC control code. The Da Vinci Institute, which has been integrally involved since the competition's inception in 2003, facilitated judging. There was also additional input from respected and experienced Siemens A&D product users from industry, including South African Breweries and Anglo Platinum. Furthermore, there was a mechanical evaluation on the implementation of the pneumatic equipment by Festo. The judging criteria covered all aspects of the project's implementation, from mechanical construction and electrical wiring according to industry practices to aesthetics, modularity and efficiency of the code.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal took the first prize of R100 000 in Siemens A&D products. In second place were Cyber Junkyard 2004 winners, The University of Johannesburg (Doornfontein Campus). The third place went to North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus).
Footage of competition entries is envisaged to be used at high school level to encourage learners to enter into these and related fields of study. It is also planned that the systems should be used by Siemens and other key sponsor companies at exhibitions.
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