Tran Dang Khoi · Robotics e-Portfolio

What Sets Me Apart

Three things that make me different

Grace under pressure

When my robot's code froze mid-run at the World Robot Olympiad Singapore 2025, I diagnosed the fault, swapped the hub, and re-ran to win Bronze. I don't panic when things break — I debug.

Self-driven builder

Outside of class, I built and coded my own four-legged walking robot at home, inspired by Boston Dynamics' Spot. Robotics is my hobby, not just my lesson.

An engineer who can explain

I've trained in public speaking since 2023 and competed nationally. I can present my work clearly and confidently — a rare pairing with hands-on robotics skill.

Signature Achievement

World Robot Olympiad Singapore 2025 — RoboMission Bronze

WRO Singapore 2025 RoboMission Elementary Bronze certificate — Team Pegasus

Bronze Award

World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Singapore 2025 · RoboMission, Elementary · Team Pegasus (2 members) · My role: coding & robot construction

The mission: the WRO Singapore 2025 RoboMission Elementary challenge was space-themed — my robot had to collect the satellite and deliver it to the correct position across the board, accurately and within the time limit.

Six months of preparation: on top of my regular course, I joined a separate, dedicated WRO squad — 24 weekly 2-hour sessions (~48 hours, April–September 2025) — to prepare for this national-level RoboMission challenge.

The problem

Midway through our run, the program froze and the robot stalled — right in front of the judges.

How I solved it

We traced the fault to the hub, swapped in a replacement, and reloaded the program. The judges granted us special permission to re-run.

The result

On the re-run the robot completed the mission — earning us the Bronze medal.

What I learned: staying calm and thinking step-by-step when something breaks matters as much as the code you wrote beforehand.

Team Competition

FIRST LEGO League — SUBMERGED (Ocean)

FIRST LEGO League

FIRST LEGO League 2024/25 · SUBMERGED · Team Tsunami (4 members) · My role: presentation, robot construction & missions

The season: SUBMERGED is FIRST LEGO League's ocean-themed challenge. As a four-member team we designed and built a robot, completed missions on the competition table, and presented our work to the judges.

Dedicated preparation: 12 weekly FLL training sessions (October 2024 – March 2025) at the School of Robotics — covering robot design, autonomous missions, and the team research & presentation project.

My contribution

I helped build the robot, worked on completing two missions, and delivered part of our team's presentation to the judging panel.

The story

[To be added by Khoi: the two missions we attempted, our robot design idea, and one problem we solved during the season.]

What I learned

[To be added by Khoi: how the four of us split the work, and one thing I took from competing as a team.]

Why it matters: FLL taught me that robotics is a team sport — the build, the code and the way you explain it all have to come together.

Independent Passion Project

Building my own "Spot" — a 4-legged robot

Inspired by Boston Dynamics' Spot, I set out to build my own four-legged walking robot at home. I was fascinated by how a machine could balance and walk on four legs instead of rolling on wheels.

My father and I brainstormed the leg design and how the four legs should move together. From there I programmed it myself in LEGO Spike — and instead of complex calculations, I used hands-on trial and error: adjusting each motor's movement and timing, testing, and refining until the legs worked together in a steady walk. The build and the code are mine, and I can explain how every part works.

Worked out a four-legged design and coded a repeating walking gait
Used loops and timed motor movements to coordinate the four legs
Tuned the movement by trial and error — adjust, test, observe, repeat
Learned that real engineering is mostly fixing what doesn't work the first time

Programming & Thinking

What I can do in LEGO Spike

Built up over two years of courses and competitions — these are the concepts I use confidently.

Decomposition & My Blocks

Breaking a mission into smaller custom blocks so my code is organised and reusable.

Variables & Logic

Using variables to count and track state so behaviour depends on data, not fixed steps.

Loops & Conditionals

Repeat and if/else logic — "keep going until the colour sensor sees the line."

Sensors

Colour, force and distance sensors for line-tracing, detection and reacting to the environment.

Broadcasting

Using messages to trigger actions and run several parts of a program at once.

Navigation

Programming a robot to follow a path and hit intersections accurately.

Ask me about… (I can explain each from memory)

How I made a robot follow a line with the colour sensor — and handle an intersection.
The walking gait on my four-legged robot — what order the legs move in, and why.
A bug I had to fix — how I found the cause, not just the symptom.

My Robotics Journey

2 years · 200+ hours · one passion

My competition highlights first, then the dedicated training and courses that built up to them.

2025 · Competition

WRO Singapore 2025 — RoboMission Bronze

Team Pegasus, RoboMission Elementary space challenge — won Bronze after fixing a hardware failure mid-run.

2024/25 · Competition

FIRST LEGO League — SUBMERGED

Ocean-themed FLL season with Team Tsunami: robot build, missions and judge presentation.

Apr–Sep 2025 · 48 hrs · 24 sessions

Dedicated WRO competition training

A separate weekly WRO squad — 2-hour Saturday sessions at the School of Robotics, on top of my regular course — for intensive RoboMission preparation.

Oct 2024 – Mar 2025 · 24 hrs · 12 sessions

Dedicated FLL competition training

A separate FLL squad (2-hour weekly sessions) preparing for the SUBMERGED season — robot missions plus the team research & presentation project.

Apr–Sep 2025 · 48 hrs

Competition level — FLL base (Stage 4)

My regular Stage-4 course: FIRST LEGO League skills, cargo & sorting missions, build-your-own-robot, accident avoidance.

Jan–Mar 2025 · 18 hrs

Sensors & autonomy

Line tracing, My Blocks & broadcasting, and autonomous navigation missions.

Oct–Dec 2024 · 24 hrs

Mechanisms & programming logic

Gears, construction, flowcharts, variables & operators, advanced sensor control.

Jul–Sep 2024 · 24 hrs

Foundations of robotics

Movement, loops, force / distance / colour sensors and conditional statements.

Apr–Jun 2024 · 20 hrs

Getting started — LEGO Spike Prime

First builds, custom claws, touch-sensor machines and my first missions.

Communication & Leadership

I can build it — and explain it

Public Speaking Academy — since 2023

Weekly training in the MOE-registered Speech Excellence Programme — impromptu speaking, persuasive speech, interview skills and technical presentations.

National Public Speaking Competition 2025

Competed in the Qualifying Rounds (Aug 2025), delivering both a prepared and an impromptu speech in front of judges.

Presenting for Team Tsunami

Delivered part of my team's FIRST LEGO League presentation to the judging panel — combining robotics knowledge with clear communication.

Evidence

Certificates & moments

Tap any image to view it full-size.

WRO Singapore 2025 RoboMission Bronze certificate — WRO Singapore 2025 RoboMission Bronze — Team Pegasus

FIRST LEGO League certificate — FIRST LEGO League 2024/25

Khoi with a robotics project — [Confirm caption]

SOR 4SP100 course certificate — SOR 4SP100 · FLL Base (48 hrs)

SOR 3SP300 course certificate — SOR 3SP300 · Sensors & Autonomy

SOR 3SP200 course certificate — SOR 3SP200 · Mechanisms & Logic

SOR 3SP100 course certificate — SOR 3SP100 · Foundations

SOR 2SP100 course certificate — SOR 2SP100 · Getting Started

Reflection & Goals

Where I'm headed

What I'd do differently

Make my programs more reliable — testing the hub and code thoroughly before a run, so one failure can't stop the whole mission.

What I want to learn next

Move from block coding into text-based programming, and explore how AI helps robots sense, balance and make their own decisions. Boston Dynamics' robots make me curious about autonomous and humanoid robots — I want to understand the thinking behind them, not just watch them work.

Why a STEM & Robotics school

I want to keep competing, keep building, and grow as both an engineer and a communicator alongside others who love to make things.

Appendix

School of Robotics — courses & competition training

The full list of topics I completed across 130+ hours of structured coursework at the School of Robotics (2024–2025) — with a further ~70 hours of dedicated competition training (WRO and FLL) on top. Tap a course to expand its topics.

WRO WRO RoboMission Competition Training (Elementary)Apr – Sep 2025 · 48 hrs · 24 sessions · national-level squad (organised by Space Faculty)

Engineering & coding ability
Problem-solving & critical thinking
Teamwork & collaboration
Time-management under competition pressure
Tackling real-life problems using STEM knowledge

FLL FIRST LEGO League Challenge 2024/25 — SUBMERGEDOct 2024 – Mar 2025 · 24 hrs · 12 sessions · separate competition squad

Robot design & construction (EV3 & Spike Prime)
Autonomous missions on the SUBMERGED field
Research & innovation project
Team presentation to judges
Teamwork, communication & strategy

2SP100 Introduction to LEGO Spike PrimeApr – Jun 2024 · 20 hrs

Intro to LEGO Spike Prime
Colour Pointer
Super Safe Deposit Box
Grabbers & Custom Claws
SMART Bike
Turtle
T-Rex Game
Touch Sensor Builds (Drill, Button Claws)
Helicopter & Bomb Sweeper
Custom Surprise Build / Mission

3SP100 Foundations of RoboticsJul – Sep 2024 · 24 hrs

Introduction to LEGO Robotics
The Basic Robot
Basic Movement
Wait & Loop Block
Mid-Term Assessment
Force Sensor (Basic)
Distance Sensor (Basic)
Colour Sensor (Basic)
Conditional Statements
Mission Challenges
Final Assessment

3SP200 Mechanisms & Programming LogicOct – Dec 2024 · 24 hrs

Basics of Construction
Support Wheels
Introduction to Gears
Gears Application
Programming Logic & Flowchart
Programming Logic & Flowchart Application
Mid-Term Assessment
Variables & Operators
Variables & Operators Application
Force Sensor (Remote Control)
Force Sensor (Advanced)

3SP300 Sensors & AutonomyJan – Mar 2025 · 18 hrs

Colour Sensor (Zig-Zag Tracing)
Colour Sensor (Advanced)
Basic Claw
One-Way Lock
My Block & Broadcasting
Introduction to Ptrack
Ptrack Intersection & Movement
Ptrack Mission
Trapper & Grabber Claw
Grab & Lift

4SP100 Competition Level — FLL BaseApr – Sep 2025 · 48 hrs

FLL Base
Engine
Blade & Parcel
Assessment I
Cargo Deck
Sorting Centre
The Bee
Build Your Own Robot
Assessment II
Helicopter & Accident Avoidance