Guided by the Ministry of Education and organized by the National Science and Technology Museum and the Office of the Cross-disciplinary Talent Cultivation Project for Sustainable Energy, the 2024 “Taiwan Energy – Sustainable Energy Innovation Competition” attracted 227 teams from universities and colleges across the country. With the theme of “Energy,” the competition featured three categories: “Net Zero Emissions,” “Green Energy Innovation,” and “Short Film Creation,” encouraging students to address economic, social, and environmental issues through innovative projects to promote energy sustainability and advocate for concrete actions in energy conservation and environmental protection.
This year’s competition saw fierce participation from teams representing leading universities such as National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Kung University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Chung Yuan Christian University’s Department of Electrical Engineering stood out in the “University Net Zero Emissions Category” with their project “Golden Zero Pokémon,” winning the gold medal. Another team from Chung Yuan University also excelled in the “University Green Energy Innovation Category,” winning the Creativity Award for their project on “Integrating Impact Cooling into the Thermal Management of Battery Cooling Modules.” The awards ceremony was held on October 20 at the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung, showcasing the innovative capabilities of Chung Yuan students in various fields.
Chung Yuan Christian University’s “Golden Zero Pokémon” project, developed by third-year students Gao Yujun, Wu Wanqi, Xu Yingxin, and Zhang Kaini from the Department of Electrical Engineering, creatively transformed the traditional ritual of burning joss paper into an electronic incineration simulation. Utilizing solar energy as the power source, the project features an app with smart control functions, allowing users to simulate the action of offering joss paper through their smartphones. This approach preserves the ritualistic aspect while integrating modern technology, aligning with the trend of energy conservation and carbon reduction, earning unanimous praise from the judges.
The project was supervised by Professor Liao Yuping, who is currently the Director of the Bachelor and Master’s Programs in Smart Computing and Big Data at Chung Yuan Christian University. She noted that in support of the 2050 Net-Zero Transformation Goal, the faculty and students of the Department of Electrical Engineering actively conceptualized projects with sustainability themes from the beginning of the year, focusing on applying green energy—particularly solar power—to everyday life through innovative ideas.
Gao Yujun described the competition as a valuable and memorable experience. Inspired by the environmental impact of burning joss paper, the team integrated AR technology with traditional culture to reduce pollution while preserving the ritual’s integrity and promoting green energy. She noted that the team invested significant time and effort to address challenges in software-hardware integration and ensure smooth AR-furnace interaction, while also considering religious acceptance. Gao credited the project’s success to the team’s collaboration and expressed gratitude to Professor Liao Yuping for her guidance in key decisions that led to this outstanding result.
