We, the students of the Marine Technology Department, learned programming using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3. We learned how the various sensors work, including a line tracer, a robot that automatically tracks and moves on a line on a plane with an optical sensor, as shown in the photo.

This is a photo of a mission to stop within 1 cm of a box in front of the robot.

We measured the distance from the starting point to the wall, fine-tuned the number of rotations of the robot's wheels, and incorporated sensors for the competition. The winning team received enthusiastic applause for achieving an accuracy of less than 1 mm.

As the culmination of our programming endeavors, we organized a sumo robot competition. This event was a delightful experience, as we devised rules and adjusted our programs while actively participating in the games. It got us thinking about how we could extend the knowledge and skills we had acquired in programming and robotics to practical applications in the maritime domain, which represents the future stage for our activities.

Last year's seniors presented their idea for a smart fishing industry using amphibious drones as a solution to the lack of successors to the fisheries industry and the dwindling number of seafarers. This year's juniors therefore wanted to add a fish-finding function that would be controlled by sensors and analyze underwater images, and report back to the vessel when it finds a school of fish.

After consulting with an expert mentor, we decided to add a function that would allow the data to be viewed online on a smartphone or tablet and automatically return to the boat after the fish school detection was complete, at the pilot's direction. Using what we learned in robotics,we worked on developing an underwater drone after school and won second place in the 2021 3rd National Marine Robot Contest for High Schools of Fisheries and Oceanography.

We would like to continue to develop robots that will improve the marine industry.