NEWKosen Robot Contest “Mogi Mogi Fruit GO Round ”

Tokyo Electron (TEL) supports the Kosen Robot Contest (known as Robocon), the stage for young engineers to demonstrate their capabilities.

The Robocon, held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 26, is a national event where teams of Colleges of Technology (Kosen) students compete in ideas and performance using robots they designed and built themselves. As this year’s event was held on the same scale as it was pre-pandemic, with capacity limits lifted, the fervor of competing students and their supporters, as well as that of regular spectators returned full force to the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

The theme for this year’s competition was “Mogi Mogi (to pick fruit) Fruit GO Round.” Using one robot and supporting item, participants had to navigate through wooden blocks positioned on the floor, then pass through rope zones placed in two areas along the course, and finally pick fruit hanging from various heights. While several teams struggled with the blocks and ropes in regional competitions, at the national competition, as the competitors had all advanced to the nationals by winning their regional competitions, most teams cleared these areas even with the number of blocks and rope heights set at higher levels.

However, with a time limit of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, only a handful of teams were able to fully demonstrate what they wanted to do. Consequently, after their time was up, some students were seen falling to their knees, or were too stunned to speak, and while some supported and reassured them, other students were seen bowing to the field before they left the arena despite their disappointment with their losses. It goes without saying that in addition to the fruits, they also took with them the hearts of the audience.

The Tokyo Electron Award was given to the National Institute of Technology, Anan College (Tokushima Prefecture), representative of the Shikoku region.

Comment from Aoi Tani, the team leader of the National Institute of Technology, Anan College:
“I was very nervous competing on such a big stage like the Kokugikan, especially in front of such a large crowd. I am disappointed that we were unable to demonstrate the things we were able to do at the regional competition and in our test runs at the actual national competition. Our experience at the national competition is extremely valuable. This experience will inspire us to improve the precision of our robot and resolve our problems for next year.”

Students were able to show their passion, ideas, and technical capabilities at this year’s competition, and TEL looks forward to their future successes. TEL also supports the NHK Gakusei Robocon and the ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest. TEL will continue to support a wide range of “Roboconists.”