Robot-sumo

Robot-sumo is an <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a> and <a href="/facts/Robotics/wkmvodJz">robotics</a> competition in which two <a href="/facts/Robot/S5mDzWYk">robots</a> attempt to push each other out of a circular arena, in a similar fashion to the sport of <a href="/facts/Sumo/IV1qRw4s">sumo</a>. The robots used in this competition are called "sumo robots", "sumobots" or simply "sumos".
Competitions typically involve autonomously operated <a href="/facts/Wheel/SlIWX3xd">wheeled</a> <a href="/facts/Mobile_robot/klkTEo39">mobile robots</a>. The <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a> challenges are for the robot to find its opponent (usually accomplished with <a href="/facts/Infrared/44XdJNcc">infrared</a> or <a href="/facts/Ultra-sonic/31Pa5IH9">ultra-sonic</a> <a href="/facts/Sensor/RN8SXbjs">sensors</a>) and to push it out of the dohyō. A robot should also avoid leaving the arena, usually by means of a sensor that detects the edge. The most common mechanical design is to use a <a href="/facts/Wedge/Wohjlsa2">wedge</a> with a <a href="/facts/Blade/yxqtx5hq">blade</a> at the front to lift the opposing robot and push it more easily. 

Robot-Sumo originated in <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a> in 1989 when FUJISOFT Inc. [jp] organized an experimental robot-sumo tournament, which would later be established as the All Japan Robot Sumo Tournament [jp](Japanese: 全日本ロボット相撲大会 zen'nippon robotto sumou taikai). Since 1998, FUJISOFT has collaborated with more than 30 countries, and robot-sumo has spread and has been one of the most popular robotics competitions in the world, such as in <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a>, <a href="/facts/Mexico/IT5bwhdh">Mexico</a> and <a href="/facts/Brazil/QHkG46GL">Brazil</a>, with a total of 80,000 people around the world actively developing sumo robots. Currently, the All Japan Robot-Sumo Tournament is hailed as the "World Robot-Sumo Championship". 
Although high-performance competitions (events between <a href="/facts/Vocational_education/vIDzdCs1">technical students</a>, <a href="/facts/University/skaJt2Io">universitarians</a> and graduated engineers) require highly complex engineering projects, it is often used as an educational tool for simpler protoypes in schools.
Robot-sumo competitions still hold <a href="/facts/Amateur/2UbDD2k0">amateur</a> status, but sumo robots design has been the subject of studies and research in <a href="/facts/Academy/Q1cenQyr">academic</a> environment as well.

Robot-sumo open-in-new

Robot-sumo