The purpose of the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning is to raise students’ interest in decommissioning through robotics, contribute to the cultivation of students’ creativity, and develop not only their problem-solving ability but also their problem-finding ability. The contest assumes fuel debris removal from the lower part of the pedestal at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This paper describes the activities of our college in the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning and the robot design to overcome the challenges of the 4th and 5th contests. Whereas the 4th contest was held on site, the 5th contest was held online. To evaluate the robot that we have developed, we prepared a mock-up of the contest field at our school and conducted a demonstration. In the 4th contest, our team was the only one among the participating teams to complete the task and won the award from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). In the 5th contest, we won the award from the Governor of Fukushima prefecture. The educational effects of the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning were great. The students who participated in the contest became more interested in decommissioning and were able to develop problem-solving skills, the ability to study independently, schedule management, and so on.

1. [1] M. Holt, R. J. Campbell, and M. B. D. Nikitin, “Fukushima Nuclear Disaster,” Congressional Research Service, R41694, 2012.
2. [2] K. Aoyagi, “Creative Human Resources Development Through Basic Research on Nuclear Decommissioning: Interdisciplinary Challenge From Fukushima Using the Network of the National Institute of Technology,” The J. of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, Vol.138, No.8, pp. 539-541, 2018.
3. [3] S. Suzuki, “Human Resource Development Through the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.36, No.7, pp. 483-486, 2018 (in Japanese).
4. [4] K. Watanabe and Y. Komata, “Introduction to Robotics,” Ohmsha, 2006 (in Japanese).
5. [5] S. Muramatsu, D. Chugo, S. Yokota, and H. Hashimoto, “Student Education Utilizing the Development of Autonomous Mobile Robot for Robot Competition,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.29, No.6, pp. 1025-1036, 2017.
6. [6] Y. Kaji, J. Kawata, and S. Fujisawa, “Educational Effect of Participation in Robot Competition on Experience-Based Learning,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.31, No.3, pp. 383-390, 2019.
7. [7] S. Sato, T. Song, and Y. Aiyama, “Development of Tele-Operated Underfloor Mobile Manipulator,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.33, No.6, pp. 1398-1407, 2021.
8. [8] A. Kakogawa and S. Ma, “Robotic Search and Rescue Through In-Pipe Movement,” M. Reyhanoglu and G. De Cubber (Eds.), “Unmanned Robotic Systems and Applications,” IntechOpen, doi: 10.5772/intechopen.88414, 2019.