Held a programming workshop for children at I-PEX Campus in collaboration with Living Robot Inc.

On August 17, 18, and 21, 2023, “Walking MechatoroWeGo” (hereafter referred to as “MechatroWego”) Programming Workshop was held at I-PEX Campus (Ogori City, Fukuoka Prefecture).

In this workshop, an employee of Living Robot Inc. (Head office: Date City, Fukushima Prefecture; President: Yasuhiro Kawauchi; hereafter “Living Robot”) served as instructors, and a total of 24 pairs of 64 parents and children, mostly I-PEX employees with children in elementary and junior high school, attended the workshop. The workshop lasted about one hour, using the MechatoroWeGo, a robot for learning programming developed by Living Robot. Living Robot has a satellite office in the main building of the I-PEX Campus, and I-PEX and them jointly held programming lessons for elementary and junior high schools from 2021, thereby contributing to and interacting with the community through providing educational opportunities.

Due to the revision of the Courses of Study, programming classes have become mandatory in elementary schools nationwide from 2020 with the aim of fostering a programming mindset. Programming lessons using MechatroWigo are being offered at various local educational institutions, including elementary and junior high schools in Date City, Fukushima Prefecture, where Living Robot is headquartered, and Ogori City, Fukuoka Prefecture, where the I-PEX Campus is located.

In the workshop, after the children learned what programming is and that programs are used in many ways around us, each child was given a Mechatrowego and a terminal to operate. The programming experience proceeded in the form of a challenge from the instructor. The participants worked on their own programming, with tasks increasing in difficulty from the simple “walk from the starting position to a board a few steps ahead and knock down the board” to “climb over a step, pass through a gate, and knock down a picture placed beyond the gate.” During the task, there were voices of discussion, frustration when they failed, and cheers when they succeeded, and it seemed that not only children but also parents were seriously engaged in the task.

After all the assignments were completed, the children had time to let their robots run freely. They had fun using the commands they had used in the tasks to compete in a robot wrestling match, and they also tried out acrobatic moves such as dancing and gymnastics, which were not used in the tasks.

This workshop provided an opportunity for children to learn and deepen their understanding of the joy of programming. In the future, I-PEX will continue to promote the provision of educational opportunities for children to experience manufacturing to contribute to the development of human resources who will support the future.

Living Robot Inc. is a technology company that develops partner robots and related technologies with the aim of realizing a society in which people and robots can live and grow together. Living Robot is expanding its business and contributing to society through the use of “Walking MechatoroWeGo” in programming education, social implementation initiatives in various fields, and the exhibition of its products at technology-related events in Japan and abroad.

“Walking MechatoroWeGo” is a palm-sized, bipedal walking programming robot, faithful to the concept and ideas of the original character Mechatrowego, designed by 3D model artist Kazushi Kobayashi, and realized as a real robot that walks and moves. The robot has been introduced in various educational institutions such as elementary and junior high schools and high schools.