Our Town 2024: Yuta Goko and Haruto Yamada
Last updated: May 12, 2024
Winner and Design Award at RoboCup Junior Japan Open 2024 Nagoya!
Yuta Goko
Shuji Yamada
Corn Squadron
At the tournament, held in Nagoya City in March, Goko Yuta (then a fifth-grader at Inagi Seventh Elementary School) and Yamada Shuji (then a second-grader at Inagi Third Junior High School) won the soccer entry league and also received the design award.
In this competition, two teams of self-assembled autonomous robots play soccer with a ball equipped with an infrared sensor on a court measuring approximately 2m x 1.5m, with the winner decided after four minutes in each half. In this competition, not only the level of technology of the robots but also programming ability and how well they deal with malfunctions during the match affect the outcome. The "Corn Squadron" that participated this time is a robot made from corn-derived plastic molded using a 3D printer, and the two team members inherited the technology that their predecessors have been improving for generations, and came to this competition with it.
State of the tournament
When asked about his impressions of the tournament, Goko said with a smile, "I had heard that it was an amazing tournament just to be able to participate in, but I'm surprised that we won. With each tournament, from the West Tokyo Tournament to the Kanto Block Tournament, we continued to make improvements and had fun growing."
When asked about the reason for his victory, Yamada said, "I got advice from a senior who competed in the same tournament last year, and spent a year working on a structure that would make it difficult for the opponent to catch the ball, which led to my victory."
The two attend a robotics class in the city, learning programming and practicing robot soccer. "It's fun to find problems while practicing with my friends, share the information, and make improvements," said Goko.
A courtesy visit to the mayor
We asked the two about their future goals. "Next, I want to compete in the next level, the lightweight division (under 19 years old), and take first place in the world (Goko)," and "I want to gather more information, improve my skills with my teammates, and make a better robot. I also want to do my best to become first place in the lightweight division (Yamada)." They will continue to challenge themselves to make further improvements to their robot and make it a robot that can be used around the world.
Inquiries regarding this page
Inagi City Planning Department Secretary Public Relations Division
2111 Higashi-Naganuma, Inagi-shi, Tokyo
Phone: 042-378-2111 Fax: 042-377-4781
