UP Lantern Parade 2012 - College of Engineering's DeceptIKOT

I landed upon this video on youtube showing the entry of the College of Engineering in the 2012 University of the Philippines Lantern Parade. Guys, you must understand that the UP Lantern Parade is a festive activity showcasing lanterns made by students (and sometimes some people within the UP community join too) using minimal budget. Year on year, we expect the UP College of Fine Arts to win this category.

I have always watched this parade and I must say this year, the College of Engineering did a fine fine job indeed at making a Decepticon Robot out of a jeepney! This they called the DeceptIKOT, derived from the Decepticon Robots and the UP Ikot which is the route of the jeepney inside the University (Ikot means to go around or turn around). I must say I was in awe of this! Great job, and great video. The one who posted this video was on the best angle to showcase the transformation of a jeepney with the UP logo on the side into an Optimus Prime looking "Decepticon".

Here is the description according to Ji Reyes who was kind enough to share this on youtube:

"One of the crowd favorites of the night. The mechanical design and construction were done by the UP Department of Mechanical Engineering and the UP Gears and Pinions. The lights and electronics were done by the Power Electronics Laboratory of the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute.

The frame was a single input linkage using a dc motor with gearbox as the prime mover. The turntable was manually operated. For a tight budget, this was a big achievement."

I am really proud of this, a really interesting entry from my college :) I understand how minimal the budget can be, and how limited the time is to create this huge lantern. Midterms and all other types of exams happen right before the Engineering Week so this is a huge task for the assigned students and the supporting faculty who made this happen. Applause for you guys!!!

Here's the link: http://youtu.be/BM0HPwmMU0o