About my research at the university (in writing...)
I am doing research on automating the display of products in convenience stores using robot technology.
In Japan, the labor shortage due to the declining birthrate and aging population has become a major problem. In particular, convenience stores require a small number of employees to perform a large number of tasks, thus saving on labor by introducing robot technology is highly required. Therefore, I am researching and developing a robotic system that allows humans and robots to coexist in the same store, automatically stocking and discarding products efficiently. In 2022, I was awarded the Miura Prize from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers as one of the most excellent mechanical engineering graduate students in Japan, both in personality and academic achievement.
I participated in the Future Convenience Store Challenge, Stock and disposal task, a competition on automation technology in convenience stores. The competition requires an autonomous mobile robot to handle the products placed in a mess on the display shelves instead of a convenience store clerk. In this project, I proactively led the team members as a team leader by designing the robot system configuration and managing the development schedule, in addition to C++ coding using RT-middleware, a robot middleware. As a result, the team was able to successfully operate a complex robot system and win 2nd place.
I have participated several times in the World Robot Summit Future Convenience Store Challenge, a global robot competition organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to compete in automation technology in future convenience stores.
Here is the YouTube Live of Stock and Disposal Task category.
Future Convenience Store Challenge DAY2 (September 10,2021)/フューチャーコンビニエンスストアチャレンジ 2日目