The open-source robots based on Arduino can play a positive role in the selection of contestants for maker competitions and robot competitions during the regional compulsory education stage, aligning with educational goals while enhancing students’ comprehensive abilities: 1. Lowering participation barriers to promote educational equity – Low cost and accessibility: Arduino hardware is affordable, and the open-source ecosystem is mature, making it accessible for schools or families, allowing more students (especially in resource-limited areas) to engage with robotics technology. – Simplifying technical difficulty: Graphical programming tools (such as Scratch for Arduino) and modular hardware design lower the barriers to programming and electronics knowledge, making it suitable for younger students to start, avoiding discouragement of potential interests due to technical complexity. 2. Cultivating core skills that align with competition selection standards – Interdisciplinary practical abilities: – Engineering thinking: From structural design, circuit connections to debugging and optimization, students experience the complete engineering process of “design-implementation-iteration.” – Programming logic: Through sensor control and algorithm implementation (such as line following and obstacle avoidance), students develop logical thinking and code debugging skills. – Application of physics and mathematics: Knowledge such as gear ratio calculations and kinematic modeling is materialized in practical projects. – Innovation and problem-solving: – The open-source nature encourages students to modify hardware and develop new functions (such as designing robotic arms from waste materials), showcasing unique creativity in competitions. – Task-oriented competitions (such as rescue and transportation) require quick problem analysis and plan adjustments, cultivating adaptability in real-time situations. 3. Strengthening teamwork and soft skills – Role division practice: Tasks such as hardware assembly, programming, and documentation writing require teamwork, simulating real engineering team operations. – Improvement of expression skills: The competition defense segment requires students to clearly articulate technical solutions, honing communication and presentation abilities. – Cultivating resilience and pressure tolerance: Common challenges such as debugging failures and time pressure help students adapt to the competition environment and develop psychological resilience. 4. Accurately selecting potential candidates – Multi-dimensional ability assessment: – Technical foundation: Code standardization, hardware stability, etc., reflect the solidity of basic skills. – Innovative highlights: Unique function designs or algorithm optimizations (such as AI image recognition extensions) can identify creative students. – Learning potential: Utilization of the open-source community (such as referencing and improving GitHub code) reflects self-learning capabilities. – Layered selection mechanism: – Basic competitions can filter solid foundations through standardized tasks (such as obstacle-avoiding vehicles); – Advanced selection can set open topics (such as “smart waste classification robots”), focusing on innovation and system integration capabilities. 5. Connecting classroom learning with real-world scenarios – Project-based learning (PBL) vehicle: Integrating competition tasks into daily teaching (such as creating a weather station with Arduino) allows for a natural connection between selection and curriculum. – Career enlightenment window: Exposure to simplified industrial-grade technologies (such as 3D printing and the Internet of Things) stimulates interest in fields like engineering and artificial intelligence, laying the groundwork for future career choices. 6. Promoting regional educational resource integration – Teacher capability enhancement: Promoting teacher training through Arduino to update technical knowledge, narrowing the teaching level gap between regions. – Inter-school resource sharing: Open-source solutions facilitate collaboration between schools to develop competition question banks or training cases, forming a regional innovative education ecosystem. Application case references – Maker competitions: Students create an “intelligent farm model” using Arduino and sensors, achieving automatic irrigation through the Internet of Things, reflecting the theme of agricultural technology. – Robot competitions: The Arduino-based “epidemic prevention robot” must complete path planning and material transportation tasks, comprehensively assessing mechanical structure and algorithm design. In summary, Arduino open-source robots are not just technical tools but an educational empowerment platform. They enable students in compulsory education to showcase technical abilities, innovative thinking, and teamwork spirit in competitions while providing selectors with quantifiable assessment dimensions to accurately identify future talents with STEM potential.