On September 20, 2024 Nagoya University and Gifu University, hosted the "Tokai Climax Series 2024" in the city of Gifu. This competition tested the performance of flight robots (autonomous gliders) designed and built by four teams of students, two from each university. Nagoya University Team B, with the largest and most stable aircraft, emerged as the winner. Both universities operate under the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System.
Launching a flight robot using rubber tension
Designing, Building, and Flying Autonomous Aircraft in University Courses
This competition is part of the "Aerospace Design and Production Integrated Human Resource Development Program," a joint initiative between the two universities. Through this hands-on course, students can conceptualize, design, build, and fly their own aircraft. Held annually since 2021, it has become a popular course among students.
For its fourth year, the competition introduced turbulent airflow as a new challenge, installing a large fan near the takeoff point. Each team built their aircraft while focusing on different aspects such as flight stability, speed, and manufacturing efficiency.
Nagoya University Team A developed the lightest aircraft in the competition's history, weighing just 97 grams. Their strategy relied on high speed to pierce through strong winds!
The competing aircraft were true flight robots, equipped with control surfaces such as "elevators" for pitch control and "ailerons" for roll control. Coupled with onboard sensors, microcontrollers, and motors, these systems enabled real-time adjustments to orientation mid-flight. Despite being battered by strong winds, the aircraft demonstrated impressive control. The robots soared high to perform turns and recovering from near-stalls to extend their flight distances, thrilling the audience.
Nagoya University Team B, the winners of the competition, focused on achieving stable flight at low speeds. They designed an aircraft with rectangular wings, chosen for ease of manufacturing. With a 1.2-meter wingspan and a uniform rectangular shape at both ends, their aircraft maintained impressive stability despite weighing over 300 grams.
The runner-up, Gifu University Team B, built their aircraft under the constraint of having only two members, using the concept "guaranteed stable flight" as their guiding principle. Based on the accumulated knowledge of past participants, they achieved solid and reliable flight performance.
Nagoya University Team B consists entirely of fourth-year students from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Gifu University Team B was made up of a fourth-year mechanical engineering and a fourth-year electrical engineering student.
Members of Nagoya University Team A (left) and Gifu University Team A (right).
A guest team of volunteers from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. joined the competition, showcasing unique aircraft including a flapping-wing model that mimicked bird flight and a rotating roller-powered lift generator. These professional-grade designs left a strong impression on the student participants.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries' volunteer team showcased innovative flight robots.
An Ideal Hands-on Learning Experience in Real-World Manufacturing
According to Professor Susumu Hara from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Engineering, who supervises this program, traditional experimental courses often follow a one-to-one structure, where a single theoretical lecture corresponds to a single experiment. However, in the real-world manufacturing industry, multiple theories must be integrated while navigating various constraints to meet design specifications. Professor Hara believes that flight robots provide an ideal theme for students to experience these real-world complexities in a tangible and comprehensible way.
Professor Susumu Hara from Nagoya University's Graduate School of Engineering served as the event's host. He energized the competition by changing T-shirts to match different moments of the event!
This competition is more than just an enjoyable event for students and faculty. It also plays a crucial role in engineering education and research. Notably, North Carolina State University in the United States has implemented a similar flight robot education program as part of its senior-year engineering project starting in 2024.
In March 2025, students from Nagoya University and Gifu University who performed well in this event traveled to North Carolina State University, allowing students from both countries to fly their robots together and foster deeper learning in aerospace technology.
The International Communications Office, Nagoya University wishes to thank the Public Relations Office, Nagoya University for the use of this article. It was originally written in Japanese for the "Public Relations Meidai" web magazine by Tatsuyuki Fukui. All photos were taken by Tatsuyuki Fukui. It has been translated and edited for clarity and readability by the International Communications Office while preserving the original content's intent. This article was originally published on September 26, 2024, and has been revised to reflect exchange programs held in March 2025. Some information may not be up to date. For the original in Japanese, please see here.