I am Michihiro Hayashi, a faculty advisor for the KOSEN Robocon (KOSEN Robot Contest) team. The National Competition of the KOSEN Robocon was held on Sunday, November 16th, 2025, at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Team A of ICT, mainly composed of students from Kanazawa Campus, participated in the event. This was ICT’s first appearance at the national competition in three years, since 2022.

KOSEN Robocon features a different theme every year, requiring teams to design and build new robots from scratch between the theme announcement in mid-April and the regional competition in early October. This year’s theme was “Great High Gate,” where robots had to stack cardboard boxes to create a gate and pull a cart carrying a team member through it. The higher the gate, the higher the score. At the Tokai-Hokuriku regional competition, ICT’s team “Koubako Club” won the Technical Award and advanced to the national competition via the judges’ recommendation.

For more information about the regional competition, please see the article [NHK KOSEN Robocon 2025, Tokai-Hokuriku Regional Competition].

After the regional competition, we worked on improving the robot for the nationals. First, we increased its travel speed by replacing gears and sprockets in the drive mechanism, achieving about 1.7 times faster movement. We also upgraded the claw mechanism for gripping boxes and fine-tuned the control program, doubling its speed. However, the faster movement made operation more challenging, and the student in charge of driving the robot struggled at first. To overcome this, we practiced not only on the Kanazawa campus but also at YUMEKOBO — a makerspace for students to freely create and experiment— simulating real match conditions until the operator became more comfortable with the controls.

At Ryogoku Kokugikan, the venue for the national competition, robots had to be transported between inspection areas, test runs, and waiting zones without elevators, requiring significant manpower. We asked two 5th year students who participated last year to help. Thanks to their willingness, we were able to attend the national competition as a six-member team.

In the tournament, we faced Hiroshima KOSEN’s “Itsukushima” in the first round and won 290–10. In the second round, we lost to Akashi KOSEN’s “Stackmate” 250–375. The Akashi team advanced further but was defeated by the eventual champion from Asahikawa KOSEN in the semifinals.

Roles at the national competition differed slightly from the regional event, so we asked each member for their thoughts.

Comments from Team A Members:

[Haruki Ota]
　

As the team leader and the operator, I found controlling the faster robot challenging. In the first match, I made a slight mistake with left and right, but overall, I managed to control the robot without any major errors.

 

 

[Haruto Shiraishi]
I was responsible for situational judgment and giving movement instructions. Using my experience as the operator in the regional tournament, I could make accurate decisions and guide the robot effectively.

 

 

 

[Imaru Oishi]
　

I continued riding the cart at nationals. My costume was upgraded with an original apron, giving me a market vendor look. I was happy to show off smooth movements without spinning around like some other team’s robots.

 

 

[Shiyu Sano]
Known as “Prayer Shiyu” from the regional broadcast ending scene, I handled robot maintenance in the pit. With almost no opportunity for test runs at nationals, every adjustment and check required intense focus.

 

 

 

[Ryuto Hashiya]
I assisted in transporting robots and tools inside the venue. My experience from last year’s regional competition was helpful. Sharing meals with teammates in Ryogoku was also a great memory.

[Sansar Sergelen]
I helped in the pit and set up gates during the preparation time. Thanks to my height, I could place the topmost box on the gate. The yakitori in Ryogoku was delicious!

We plan to continue participating in KOSEN Robocon in the coming years. I hope that seeing the seniors’ efforts will inspire younger students to join.