This is Michihiro Hayashi, Engineering Design teacher at Kanazawa campus. From Wednesday, December 4 to Friday, December 6, 2024, I took a business trip to Sapporo, Hokkaido to participate in the international conference, IDW’24(The 31st International Display Workshops).

 Starting from this year, an I4D Contest (Demonstration Contest for College of Technology Students) was held as part of the conference. One of our 4th year students, Shogo Izumiya, gave a demonstration and a speech there. The theme of the presentation was “Differences in Gaze Direction of 3D- and 2D- Avatars: from Viewpoint of ‘Mona Lisa Effect.’” In a painting of a person on a flat canvas, the “Mona Lisa effect” occurs, where the depicted person appears to be looking at the viewer, whether viewed from the front or a slightly oblique angle. How does this effect manifest in a virtual reality environment using a Head-Mounted Display (HMD)? Our task was to demonstrate this through a practical demonstration. HMD is a device worn on the head like a helmet, which provides computer graphics with a realistic three-dimensional vision right in front of your eyes.

 Right after Shogo arrived at the venue, he was very busy preparing the HMD device, displays and other equipment, and putting up his posters on the walls. This was an international conference that used English as the official language. In this regard, Justin Han sensei, who also teaches Engineering Design with us, provided the language support for the posters and the presentation. Therefore, presentations were also primarily given in English. Sometimes we used Japanese for the Japanese speakers, but all posters and other notices were written in English.

Once the presentation started, other students and researchers visited his booth, listened to his instructions, and tried the HMD devices. Even though he looked a bit nervous at the beginning, he got used to it and gave a better presentation. Besides, his efforts to explain his ideas effectively in English were remarkable and easy to understand. This event took nearly four hours, but he was deeply concentrated on it, unaware of the passage of time. However, he seemed quite tired afterward and recovered his energy by eating a lot of Hokkaido food for dinner. In addition, the best and most excellent presentations were selected by the judges. Although our presentation missed out on being selected, after the awarding ceremony, the executive committee chairperson said, “It was a very close decision. Please come to IDW’25 as well. We are looking forward to seeing you.” The next IDW’25 will be held in Hiroshima in December 2025. We will be able to see Shogo senpai presenting with the new 4th year students there. I am looking forward to going with the group again and enjoying Hiroshima food such as oysters and Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki.

Hello everyone. My name is Shogo Izumiya, and I am the chairperson of this year's ICT School Festival Executive Committee. I am very relieved, and at the same time sincerely happy that we were able to successfully hold the ICT School Festival on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Above all, I am very grateful to all the students and faculty members. It was the students' imagination and execution, as well as the help of the faculty and staff, that made this festival possible. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again.

Now, I would like to introduce, through this journal, what kind of events were carried out this year. Please take a moment to see the students' efforts and the lively environment they've cultivated.

During the day, exhibitions such as academic displays, ikebana exhibitions, and 1st year students’ art exhibitions were held at Maker Studio IV. Every year, 2nd year students take part in a practical course that covers the production-to-sale process of sweet potatoes. To check the progress, I visited the section where the results were exhibited. Another highlight was the 1st year students’ art exhibition, which featured numerous stunning works that showcased their enthusiasm and dedication. It was very touching to observe the activities and efforts of our junior students, something I don't usually get to see at Kanazawa campus.

 

In a place called the Learning Commons, two competitions were held in the morning and one in the afternoon. The first one was a card game tournament. The junior students of Hakusanroku Campus organized the event and brought the card games they usually enjoy to the desks in the Learning Commons for everyone to enjoy. The number and variety of cards they had were so large that we felt their enthusiasm was tremendous.

Next up was "Defeat Anish Kirpalani in a fighting game." You might be surprised by the name, but there's a 5th year student, Anish-senpai, who is a master of fighting games. This event was about defeating him in a particular game and winning a prize! These types of games can only be enjoyed on desktop computers or console gaming systems, so the preparation was a bit challenging. Although it was a game I wasn’t very familiar with, it turned out to be a wonderful event where we could interact with the senior students and have fun. Actually, my father, who came to watch, also tried it and managed to win with some handicaps.

In the afternoon, we had the "Big Fighting Game Tournament." Although we can't disclose the title of the game, we’ll leave it to your imagination. This event was held in a tournament format with a total of 18 players battling fiercely for prizes. The junior students were incredibly skilled, and I unfortunately lost in the quarter-finals. Each match was thrilling and kept us on the edge of our seats, making the experience immensely enjoyable.

After these events, the highlight of the day was the Bingo game. It was incredibly fun and lively, with the excitement of getting close to a Bingo but not quite hitting it, adding to the atmosphere. This annual event features gorgeous prizes that were competed for in the order of the earliest bingo winners. As more and more people got closer to bingo, I was enjoyed how everyone started fidgeting every time I brought out the bingo ball.

After the Bingo game, the final event was a debriefing session for the Kosen ROBOCON 2024 held in early October. With this, this year's ICT School Festival came to an end. Lately, ICT has begun actively participating in the Kosen ROBOCON, and their hard work and creativity, along with their perseverance in repeatedly testing and improving their ideas, make me proud as ICT student. Best of luck for next year as well!

Well, here is a summary of this year's ICT School Festival along with my impressions. How was it? ICT has just begun. Many students are now enrolling in our school, and the number of attractive junior students is increasing rapidly. We will continue to create better events in the future, and we look forward to seeing you again at next year's ICT School Festival.

Shogo Izumiya

Hi, I am Michihiro Hayashi, the advisor of the Design & Fabrication Club.
On Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6, 2024, I took a business trip with the participating students to the Tokai-Hokuriku Regional ROBOCON 2024 held in Numazu City. Numazu City is located in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture and is the furthest regional competition site from ICT. The students and their faculty advisors traveled there by chartered bus. The one-way trip was about 8 hours long. The students bought a lots of snacks and fast food at the rest area and ate them on the bus. Perhaps the souvenir shops on the highway were a rarity to them, especially since there are few stores around the Hakusanroku Campus.

The theme of this year's ROBOCON is “Return of the Robots,” and the rules call for a robot to launch an another robot, retrieve objects, and return. When the robot is launched, it inevitably receives a shock when it lands, which can cause the robot to break or malfunction, so a mechanism to absorb the shock is necessary. Also, when the robot returns after retrieving an object, some obstacles must be jumped over, so each team needs to be creative in their robot design.

Two teams from our school participated: Team A from Kanazawa Campus, “ХАЙРТАЙ ШҮҮ 3k”, and Team B from Hakusanroku Campus “Tobihoudai”. The captain of Team A was Sansar Sergelen, a 4th year student from Mongolia. Therefore, the team’s name is in Mongolian. If you are interested in the name of Team A, please look up the meaning and pronunciation.

Team A's robot was designed with airbags for shock absorption and an arm that extends like a crane when returning. With only three members, various tasks took time, and they couldn't fully adjust the robot by the final date. On the day of the competition, they continued making adjustments at the venue but unfortunately couldn't demonstrate the soft landing with the airbags. As a result, they lost both matches in the preliminary league. However, despite the small team, their innovative efforts were recognized, and they received the "DENSO Special Award."

Team B's robot was constructed so that it could continue to operate even if it was upside down on landing. They also built a robot that uses a rotating roller like a pitching machine to retrieve objects. The members gathered after school until just before the competition to continue adjusting the robot. However, they struggled to reduce the weight of the robot and were forced to bring the improved parts to the venue by bus. As a result, the robot was able to successfully pass the weighing and measuring inspection for the competition. In the competition, the students showed off how they flew and landed their robots and achieved one win and one loss in the preliminary league. The efforts of the younger students were also recognized, and they received the “Mabuchi Motor Special Award.”

Although neither team was able to advance to the final tournament or be nominated for the national tournament, I believe that they were able to fully demonstrate the results of their activities. Some students may have felt that they “failed” or “felt frustrated,” but I hope that these feelings will become rich nourishment for their future.

Michihiro Hayashi

Hello, this is Hitomi Nanto from ICT Kanazawa Office. Today, I am introducing our facility,” The Learning Commons”.
The Learning Commons was launched on the first floor of the Kanazawa Campus in September 2023. This room is a large learning space for independent learning activities such as self-learning, group studying, preparation of presentations, and discussion. It is mainly used by 4th and 5th year students who commute to the Kanazawa Campus and is designed to help them spend their precious free time after school.
Students at ICT can use this room freely which contains interactive and movable whiteboards and multi-purpose outlets on the tables. After school, I often see students sitting in the box seats by the window, enjoying self-study and conversation with their classmates. It is exciting to think that we can spend time with our friends and create new possibilities together in a place like this.

Tables and chairs in the middle of this room can be used not only for self-study but also for group work by rearranging the tables. Movable whiteboards and projectors can be used for seminars, workshops, and group brainstorming sessions.

These are booth seats like those in a diner. Some students can be seen relaxing with their classmates, spreading out their lunch boxes and snacks, or engaging in self-study. The center of the table is equipped with an electrical multi-purpose outlet, which is very convenient for charging computers and tablets.

This is the counter area and a casual space for learning and discussion. Large displays and whiteboards on the walls can be used for effective group study and discussion by displaying images from PCs.

　Hitomi Nanto