Public Workshop in Ueda: "Let’s Build a Caterpillar Robot!" held at Machinaka Campus

As part of the community education program at Machinaka Campus Ueda, we held a hands-on parent–child workshop titled “Let’s Build a Caterpillar Robot!”. Participants created soft robots that move like caterpillars using artificial muscles.

A total of nine parent–child pairs, including elementary and junior high school students, joined the event. Each team assembled electronic circuits and crafted their own caterpillar-shaped soft robot. Every robot was successfully brought to life with a wriggling motion. Some teams with extra time and enthusiasm also tried controlling their robots using Micro:bit and MOSFETs.

The smiles and excitement on the children’s faces when their robots moved were truly heartwarming. We hope that this experience might inspire some of them to become future engineers or researchers who will lead the next generation in Japan—and in Ueda.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Hiromitsu Nakanishi for organizing this wonderful opportunity, and also thank Yuma Inaba and Ju Hodon for their dedicated support during the workshop. If you are interested in hosting a similar workshop, please feel free to contact our laboratory. We are open to future collaborations and events.