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Okayama University of Science and Mapúa University Students Deepen Friendship Through Robot Contest
2026.06.23 updateNews
Students raise their hands in victory in the robot competition
Visit to the Next-Generation Aquaculture Center
Students listen to Shinobu Ishigaki (left), Honorary Director of the Museum of Dinosaur Research
Captivated students
Commemorative photo in front of skeletal fossil of a Tarbosaurus
Lunchtime speech from OUS President Hirano: “I hope our collaboration will continue to deepen.”
Mapua and OUS students having lunch together
(From left) Three Mapua University student researchers studying at OUS with research advisor Ryosuke Iwai (far right) from the Institute of Frontier Science and Technology
Touring the Science Dream Lab (Design and Manufacturing Center)
Mr. Tamura watching students write a program
Graduate student Ryusei Ushigami explaining while handling a robot
Graduate student Shunsuke Hirata (second from the left), speaking with Mapua students
First robot to reach the center pole wins!
Excitement building during intense matches
Abundant smiles!
Winning team strikes a victory pose
Event ends with a group photo on a high, friendly note!
The group consisted of 4 faculty and staff members, led by Dr. Ariel Kelly Balan, Dean of the School of Information Technology, alongside 39 students, including Luke Irvin Morata Aguilar. Their study tour took place from June 14 to June 18, taking them through Osaka and Kyoto before arriving at OUS on their final day.
After listening to an overview of OUS, the visitors toured the university's premier research facilities. This included the Next-Generation Aquaculture Center—which handles the land-based aquaculture of Japanese eels, chum salmon, and giant groupers—as well as the Museum of Dinosaur Research. The students marveled at the sights with exclamations of "Excellent!", "Wonderful!", and "Fantastic!", gazing intently at the swimming fish and the dinosaur fossil exhibits.
During lunchtime, OUS President Hiroyuki Hirano delivered a welcoming address. He noted that five students from Mapúa University are currently conducting research at OUS and expressed his hopes for the future: "I hope that our mutual understanding will deepen and our collaboration will strengthen further through student exchanges, colloquiums, and the Sakura Science Program."
The main event was the robot contest, primarily organized by OUS graduate students Yuki Tamura, Yuki Namba, and Ryu Kajiie. Over 20 graduate students, seniors, and juniors from the Department of Information Science and Engineering served as instructors, teaming up with the Mapúa students. Together, they added programming to nearly completed robot bases and attached legs to finish them. The goal of the game was to see how quickly the robot could navigate from outside a circle with a 30cm radius (60cm in the finals) to reach a pole in the center.
Depending on the programming and the shape of the legs, there were plenty of mishaps—some robots flipped over, while others went "rogue." Each twist and turn was met with loud cheers and laughter.
Tamura, Namba, Kajiie, and others, who had been preparing the robots for three weeks, successfully energized the event by working hand in hand and communicating in English with the Mapúa students. Looking out over the smiles filling the venue, Tamura said with a bright expression, "All of our hard preparation really paid off."
To wrap up the event, certificates of completion for the training at OUS were presented to all the participating students.