WHO WE ARE

ABOUT US

Who we are

Our mission

Knowledge, Beauty, Skill — three words that anchor everything we do. Through robot contests, we take on the full loop of design, fabrication, and control by ourselves, gaining hands-on experience you can't get from lectures alone.

KNOWLEDGE

We build fluency across mechanical, electrical, and software domains — understanding first principles, not just recipes.

BEAUTY

Smooth motion, elegant mechanisms, readable code. We chase the beauty in the details.

SKILL

The craft of turning ideas into working machines. We value hands-on skill sharpened through repeated iteration.

Organization

Name
ForteFibre
Formal name
Kyoto Institute of Technology — ROBOCON Challenge Project ForteFibre
Affiliation
A joint project of students and faculty at Kyoto Institute of Technology
Base
Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki Campus, West Experiment Building (Open Facility Center — Making Unit), 2nd floor
Hours
Weekdays 18:00–21:00 / weekends as needed (pre-competition, etc.)
Main competitions
NHK Student Robocon, CatchRobo, Kansai Spring & Summer Robocon, and more

Departments

A robot is never a solo effort. Our three departments — mechanical, circuits, and control — pool their skills into a single machine.

Mechanical design and fabrication01

Mechanical

We turn ideas into drawings and machine parts from metal and plastic to form the robot's frame. Strength, precision, and lightness — this is where making begins.

  • Inventor
  • CNC
  • Lathe / mill
  • 3D printing
Circuit board work02

Circuits

From motor drivers to control boards, we design and fabricate the electronics that drive the robot — the heart that bridges hardware and software.

  • KiCad
  • Oscilloscope
  • Reflow soldering
  • STM32 / Zephyr
Programming and control experiments03

Control

We read sensors and write the software that makes the robot move fast and accurately — owning the pipeline from tech selection through simulation to on-robot testing.

  • ROS 2
  • C / C++
  • Web UI
  • Software design

Competitions

We enter multiple contests each year — from rookie-focused stages where new members build experience, to the flagship events we throw the whole club at.

  • NHK Student Robocon

    June (finals) / August–kickoff for the next year

    Our flagship competition. Competing against the best in Japan, aiming for the title and a spot at ABU Robocon.

  • Summer Robot Contest

    September

    The gateway contest for new members — a high-density experience running design through build in a short window.

  • Kansai Spring Robocon

    March

    Our first large-scale robot contest. New members take the skills honed in the internal rookie tournament and put them up against other Kansai universities.

  • Kansai Summer Robocon

    August

    The last contest before NHK Student Robocon — open to new members as well.

  • CatchRobo Battle Contest

    September

    A Kyoto-hosted robot contest — a focused competition centered purely on grabbing and delivering the workpiece.

Members

Undergraduates (years 1–4) and graduate students from many majors at Kyoto Institute of Technology — pairing coursework and hands-on club life to grow on both axes.

Headcount

~50 members

Main cohort

Undergrad years 1–4 + graduate

Majors

Mechanical / Electronics / Info and more

Approx. department mix

  • Mechanical~40%
  • Circuits~15%
  • Control~45%

Approx. role mix

  • Design & buildAll members
  • Ops / managementMainly years 3–4
  • Mentoring / workshopsYears 2–4

* Figures vary by year. Ask us during a visit for the current details.

Story so far

Robocon activities at Kyoto Institute of Technology have been carried on and evolved by generations of students.

2010s–

Established the activity model centered on NHK Student Robocon

Recent

Ran multiple regional and national contests in parallel, building a cross-department training pipeline

Now

Running a long-term plan aimed at reaching the NHK Student Robocon final tournament

See our full track record →

Next steps

Join Us

Interested? Here is what we do and how the year unfolds.

See how to join →

History

A record of contests we've entered and how we've done.

Go to history →

Sponsors

The companies who support our work.

Go to sponsors →