Overview

The Robotics Dojo is an intensive robotics training program initiated in 2022 under the AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project by JICA at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The primary aim of this program is to build the capacity for robotics research in Kenya.

Educational Impact

Team-Building: The competition provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate on a single task, enhancing team-building skills.

Technological Learning : Students engage with advanced technologies not typically covered in university curricula, such as LiDAR sensors and the Robot Operating System (ROS).

Practical Challenges: The 2024 competition required robots to create maps and autonomously navigate to destinations, judged on map accuracy and completion time.

Real-World Experience: Students faced challenges adapting to differences between practice and competition environments, offering valuable learning experiences.

Robotics Competition

Participation: A total of 146 JKUAT/PAUSTI students have participated over three years (50 in 2022, 55 in 2023, 41 in 2024).

Technical Advancement: The program has observed continuous improvement as some students participate multiple years.

Evolving Challenges: Each year focuses on a different topic. In 2024, the competition emphasized using Laser Sensors for autonomous robot navigation, contributing to industrial applications like autonomous vehicle driving.

Expansion: Originally a JKUAT internal competition, the 2024 event welcomed a team from DeKUT, marking the first external participation.

Partnership

Nagasaki University: Two professors from Nagasaki University, Japan - Prof. Senya Kiyasu and Prof. Daisaku Sakaguchi - have supported the Robotics Dojo activity since its inception.

Afribot: The company provides technical advice to the program and has been instrumental in preparing robotics competition.

Future Plans

For 2025, the program aims to increase external participation, fostering inter-university student exchange.

The JKUAT College of Engineering and Technology envisions the Robot Contest as a platform for developing engineers capable of contributing innovations to Kenyan society.