Robocon National Tournament Champion
This time, I would like to introduce the work of my son, a fourth-grade elementary school student. He won first place at the 18th Shibaura Institute of Technology Robot Seminar National Tournament, held by Shibaura Institute of Technology. This year, 135 top prize winners from 1,750 participants from 32 locations across the country gathered at the Toyosu campus to compete.
https://extension-programs.shibaura-it.ac.jp/news/6780.php
Prior to the national competition, a three-day robot seminar was held at Shibaura Institute of Technology in August, and a regional competition was held to create robots. The robots that participated were of the "Boxer" type, which does not use wheels for movement, but is made of steel. It has an intricate six-legged walking mechanism, and this authentic kit alone clearly conveys the organizers' dedication and love for robots.
My son's machine actually had a reference example. The hint came from a video that was playing in the classroom during the lunch break on the first day of the seminar. The video showed a grandfather who is a carpenter helping his grandson make a robot, moving the body backwards, extending the arms and attaching a base to the front. My son had never been interested in decorations to begin with, and had said, "I just want to make it stronger," so when I happened to see the video, my son and I hit it off and agreed, "Let's go with the base strategy!" We ended up buying the things we needed at a nearby hardware store that day.
The second day was also an assembly day. I thought he would start by assembling it normally, but when I looked in on him in the afternoon, he suddenly assumed he would be modifying it, ignoring the manual, and using the base in reverse, with the body on the back, and even the gears on the arms were assembled upside down, with the motor as if it were a head. He may have been trying to make the arms face downwards as much as possible. In the end, it turned out to be a good decision. My son finished assembling it quickly, cut the PVC board he had bought the day before, and forcibly fixed it in place with vinyl tape, and immediately started playing with the battle. However, the underlay was wobbly and didn't work well. He was affectionately nicknamed "underlay-kun" by those around him.
This was the long part of the day. After the seminar, my son and I went to the company and started the modifications. We didn't do any decorations, just focused on making it stronger. There was just one piece of advice I came up with based on some information I found online. The 1kg weight limit does not include the batteries, so if we put the remote control batteries on the main unit, we can add more weight by the weight of the batteries. There were two spare wires for the remote control. Using these two, it was relatively easy to move the batteries from the remote control to the main unit. I also helped with the more difficult parts, such as making the arms and fixing the base.
Because this was an unusual modification, there were frequent unexpected problems, such as the screw heads interfering with the frame, strange movement, and strange noises. Each time, my son and I would try this and that to find the cause and make adjustments. However, this is the true joy of manufacturing. We also looked for something that could be used at the company for the weight, and we got close to 1kg. That day, we worked hard together until 11pm and somehow managed to complete it. I think that repeating trial and error until the very last minute and improving the quality of the work was a valuable experience for my son.
The third day of the regional tournament. He won all of his preliminary league matches without any problems, and on this day his nickname was promoted from "shitajiki-kun" (underlaying boy) to "saikyou-kun" (strongest boy). Just when he thought he would continue winning in the final tournament, in the semi-finals, he panicked and pulled the cord of the remote control just before the time limit, and unfortunately finished in third place. He was in tears of frustration, but he still qualified to compete in the national tournament.
There were no major modifications for the national competition, but the team made improvements to the issues they felt at the regional competition. First, they made the desk pad transparent. With a black desk pad, you can't see where you're standing, and there's a risk of tripping. Second, they modified the remote control using information they found online. They often accidentally raised and lowered their arm by mistake, so they inserted a push button to prevent this.
And then the national tournament. The size and weight were just at the limit. But the movement of the legs was light and nimble. In the preliminary league, the pad got caught on a 6mm step and he couldn't attack, resulting in several draws, but in the second half he got the hang of how to get over the step, and in the end he didn't lose even once that day and won the championship.
In this competition, I think that the type that scoops up from below has the most advantage. The scooping parts were made of metal plates or paper except for my son's machine, but the advantage of PVC boards is that they are highly flexible, so they are easy to press against the ground and stick to it, and they can get under when competing against the same type. Also, even if they were scooped up from below, they were flexible enough to not retreat, and there were several scenes where they went on the offensive. Another thing to keep in mind is that since the competition is a long-term competition, it is important to make sure that the set screws are easy to maintain. If the center of gravity is at the rear, it will easily tip over, so be careful about that. I saw several machines that had been modified to lower the center of gravity by turning the body sideways. (They were strong opponents) Also, adjusting the suspension is an important factor in deciding whether to win or lose, whether you are attacking or fleeing.
This time, I have been following my son's wishes and helping him out at key points, but it reminded me of the time when my father helped me out a lot with crafts in elementary and junior high school. Some people may criticize that parents' help will hinder children's creativity and independence. However, as I make my living from creativity, I think this is an unfounded concern. On the contrary, it was a valuable opportunity to experience the joy and sense of accomplishment of making things at a higher level, and I think that experience will be beneficial for me in the future.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people at Shibaura Institute of Technology who provided their enthusiastic and kind support, to my son's friends who came to the national tournament to give him their enthusiastic support, and to the rivals he met at the venue who cheered him on.
