In Satosho Town, a contest is held every summer where middle school and high school students compete with creatively designed robots. This initiative began in 1993 to honor the achievements of Dr. Nishina Yoshio, a physicist from Satosho Town who is referred to as the "father of modern physics and atomic physics in Japan." The 34th contest will take place in 2026.
Using familiar materials, participants tackle a theme that changes each year.
This year's theme is "Wonderful Table Setting." Items resembling candles, frying pans, plates, meat, and bread will be set on the table.
On August 30, along with the day's events, we spoke with Tanushi Yuichiro, director and secretary-general of the Nishina Memorial Foundation (Nishina Kaikan), which hosts the contest, about his thoughts on the competition.
34th Robot Contest
The winner of the Grand Prize was Ayano Kato from Takahashi Jonan High School.
The "Robot Contest" is an event that began in 1993 as a project to convey the achievements of Dr. Nishina Yoshio from Satosho Town. Participants include middle and high school students from various places in the prefecture, such as Satosho Town, Kasaoka City, Kurashiki City, Okayama City, Soja City, and even as far as Maniwa City. It is said to have started from an idea by a school teacher who thought, "It would be great to have such a contest."
Initially, it was held at the Nishina Memorial Hall in Satosho Town (a memorial and exhibition facility for Dr. Nishina), but as the number of participants increased, the venue was moved to Satosho Middle School. In some years, over 120 robots participated, while in recent years, around 60 robots have taken part.
This year (2026), the gymnasium of Satosho Middle School was unavailable due to renovations, so the contest was held at the gymnasium of Satosho Higashi Elementary School. Due to the smaller space, a limit was set on the number of participants, resulting in 46 robots participating, about 10 fewer than usual.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were years when the contest was canceled or held with video judging instead of in-person gatherings. The theme is announced every year on April 1, and production begins from that point toward the main event.
Structure of the Contest and Awards
The contest is structured so that all teams compete for scores in the preliminary rounds, with the top teams advancing to the final tournament. In the middle school division, the top 12 teams advance, while in the high school division, the top 6 teams move on to the finals.
In addition to the rankings determined by scores, there are also awards such as Nishina Originality Award, Idea Award, and Challenge Award, which may be given to robots that shine in terms of creativity, even if they do not perform well during the main event.
The Theme for 2026 is "Wonderful Table Setting"
The theme for "Robot Contest 2026" is "Wonderful Table Setting."
Imagining a scene where close friends are invited to a home for a meal at the end of summer, the robots will transport and set up tools and dishes that decorate the table.
The time limit is 3 minutes.
The themes for 2024 and 2025 were "Harvest."
Building on this, the theme for this year is to prepare and serve dishes made from harvested agricultural products.
If a difficult move is successfully executed, such as placing a triangular item on top of stacked items to complete a "candle," bonus points will be awarded. The cooking set requires placing a plate resembling a frying pan on top of the stacked items and then placing a sponge resembling ingredients on top of that.
Additionally, in the high school division, there is a barricade in front of the goal, requiring items to be lifted and set up, making it more challenging than the middle school division.
Scenes from Robot Contest 2026
I had heard that "the atmosphere is incredible," but it was even more intense than I imagined.
The competition began with the preliminary rounds, with a time limit of 3 minutes to transport and set up as many items as possible. The tension was palpable.
Some teams had tires come off right after the start or struggled to move, causing the 3 minutes to pass in an instant, while others quickly racked up points from the beginning.
Many teams were continuing to experiment on-site. There were incidents where parts of the robot, such as the arm for transporting items, would suddenly come off, and adjustments were made on the spot.
There were fast-moving robots, robots that steadily accumulated points, and robots that pushed items with power. The sizes varied as well. Some robots pushed items with force, while others gently picked up items one by one to set them up, showcasing unique strategies.
The students operating the robots were communicating within their teams, saying things like, "A little more to the right, up," "Let's transport it from here," and "How many minutes left?" while transporting the items.
"I was doing well in practice," and "Our summer practice time was lost," were voices of regret, and after the competition, there were discussions about "We should have done this." The robots were in full swing, and the sound of motors echoed.
Additionally, students analyzed other schools' robots, saying, "This is different from ours." Even with less than 10 seconds remaining, they were serious about trying to carry as many items as possible. "It doesn't work just with theory," said one student, leaving a strong impression.
The champions are Satosho Junior High School and Okayama Sanyo High School
The competition had preliminary and secondary rounds, followed by the final tournaments for both junior high and high school.
In the junior high division, the final was a match between Satosho Junior High School's "Taker" and "EGOIST". After the preliminaries, I had heard that both "Taker" and "EGOIST" were amazing, so I was looking forward to the final.
And the winner was "Taker."
The runner-up was "EGOIST." "Taker" won by a narrow margin, but "EGOIST" was equally impressive.
The winning "Taker" team was said to have firmly kept the competition rules in mind and confirmed them as a team even on the tense stage of the finals.
Both teams embodied a "wonderful table setting," with their placements being beautiful, as expected.
The winner of the high school division was "Sanyo Mechanical Engineering Department No. 1" from Okayama Sanyo High School.
They showed persistent and stable movements. The runner-up was "Sanyo Mechanical Engineering Department No. 2" from Okayama Sanyo High School.
The winning "Sanyo Mechanical Engineering Department No. 1" team initially had members with different directions, but as they practiced and went through the actual competition, they united. The high school division is challenging due to the barricade between the table, but both teams seemed to have created strong robots that moved smoothly and could score points reliably.
Data for the 34th Robot Contest 2026
| Name | 34th Robot Contest 2026 |
|---|---|
| Date | August 30, 2026 (Sunday) From 9:00 AM |
| Location | 6610 Satomi, Satosho Town, Asakuchi District, Okayama Prefecture |
| Participation Fee (including tax) | Free |
| Homepage | Robocon |
