[Event Report] Japan's First Bipedal Robot Hackathon: All 5 Teams Challenged Over 2 Days

Environment setup was the night before. We could touch the actual robot for only a few hours.

Nevertheless, all teams got the robots moving and presented on stage.

RobotMateHub (operated by Yamariki Edge LLC, Representative: Rikiya Yamamoto) held the hackathon 'Design a Future Living with Robots' using the humanoid robot 'Unitree G1' for two days, March 27 (Fri) - 28 (Sat), 2026, at RoboLink (Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture), a robot company exchange hub. Approximately 25 engineers, designers, researchers, and students were divided into 5 teams, and all teams successfully implemented and demonstrated their work by the final presentation. As the first installment of the 'Humanoid Robot Hackathon Caravan,' talent and ideas for the Physical AI era gathered.

"In the future, rather than a world where products are pushed upon us, we want to create opportunities for each individual to seriously consider robots and AI." - Rikiya Yamamoto (Organizer, Representative of Yamariki Edge LLC)

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■ Event Overview

Date: March 27 (Fri) - 28 (Sat), 2026

Venue: RoboLink, Robot Company Exchange Hub

(6th Floor, Kado Wakamatsu Building, 559 Fujisawa, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture / 2 min walk from Fujisawa Station North Exit)

Robot Used: Unitree G1 (bipedal robot) - 3 units

Organizer: Yamariki Edge LLC / RobotMateHub

Judges: Dr. Taro Yamada / Dr. Taku Itami / Dr. Satomi Ota / Dr. Yoshitaka Ushiku

Venue Cooperation: RoboLink, Robot Company Exchange Hub (Kanagawa Prefecture)

Cooperation: GMO AI & Robotics Corporation / AI Beam Inc. / Cognitech.DEV / Ohitoyoshi Lab / SmartLight Inc. / Business AI Promotion Organization / Ichizero System Co., Ltd.

■ Event Flow

▶ Day 1 (March 27, Friday Evening, Online)

Kick-off, team building, explanation of Unitree G1's API and themes.

Participants engaged in design and coding until late at night, preparing for the hands-on session the next day.

▶ Day 2 (March 28, Saturday, On-site)

Morning: Unitree G1 actual robot operation, environment setup, development sprint.

The sight of three G1s present at the venue was the first on-site Physical AI experience for the participants.

■ Awarded Teams

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Best Physical AI Award

Team "Osanpo"

Project: "Odd Stretch Assistant"

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Implemented an "exercise companion robot" that synchronizes body movements like squats with voice interaction, using a smartphone as the G1's face and projecting expressions with a photo of the representative. Also praised for maximizing development speed by separating internal robot processing from external smartphone processing.

【Judge's Comment (Dr. Taro Yamada / Award Ceremony)】

As someone who has formulated the strategy for Physical AI, I evaluated the communication and training elements as being the most orthodox and highly ranked. Congratulations.

【Judge's Comment (Dr. Yoshitaka Ushiku / Special Award by Dr. Ushiku)】

It expressed the other modality of 'face' and had high quality as AI.

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Best Interaction Award / Audience Choice Award (W Award)

Team "127cm San Nan Bo"

Project: "Family Connection"

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A proposal that views the G1's height of 127cm as the "third son in the family." This height is the same as an elderly person's shoulder when seated. Utilizing this size, they designed interactions that accompany everyone from children to the elderly. The implementation included recognizing adults and children by judging height and branching actions.

【Judge's Comment (Dr. Yoshitaka Ushiku / Award Ceremony)】

In addition to the passion of the presentation, the interaction focused on physicality, and the answer including 'wanting to involve children and the elderly' was the best.

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Best Idea Award

Team "Sushi JP"

Project: "Robot Rickshaw Connecting People and Towns"

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Proposed a rickshaw robot where the G1 acts as an "interpreter" to guide foreign tourists in local sightseeing, for those who might otherwise only visit tourist-oriented shops due to language barriers or cultural hesitations.

【Judge's Comment (Dr. Satomi Ota & Dr. Taku Itami / Award Ceremony)】

We evaluated the focus on tourism and inbound visitors, and the originality of the rickshaw idea.

【Dr. Satomi Ota Special Award Comment (Award Ceremony)】

My award absolutely goes to this team. They were the only team that attempted to take robots out into society, beyond the room.

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Judges' Special Awards (4 Teams)

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◎ Dr. Taku Itami Award — Team "Wa no Kokoro"

"Robot Chan-nosuke Delivering 'A Little Happiness'"

Implemented greeting at the entrance and tea ceremony. Aimed to incorporate an emotional engine that scores fatigue from voice tone and says, "I'll leave you be today."

【Dr. Itami's Comment (Award Ceremony)】

Felt potential in retargeting, the possibility of translating human movements into robots, and even behavior selection that matched the atmosphere.

◎ Dr. Satomi Ota Award — Team "Sushi JP"

(W Award with Best Idea Award. See comments above.)

◎ Dr. Yoshitaka Ushiku Award — Team "Osanpo"

(W Award with Best Physical AI Award. See comments above.)

◎ Dr. Taro Yamada Award — Team "Ebi Fry"

"UI/UX HANA that Continues to Evolve with Family"

Proposed a partner robot that maintains its "software soul" across hardware, changing roles according to life stages with children, adults, and the elderly. Implemented an MVP controlling the G1 with ROS 2 and Docker, moving the arm from a WebUI.

【Dr. Taro Yamada Award Comment (Award Ceremony)】

We evaluated their attempt to tackle the most challenging family domain, which advanced global players like 1X NEO are aiming for.

■ Questions for Social Implementation of Physical AI / Humanoid Robots

Sharp questions were also posed by the judges during the interim and final reviews.

　"How can we make money?"

　"Why must it be humanoid?"

For robots, it's not about technical perfection, but about business and social implementation.

The projects of all 5 teams created a space to confront these questions.

■ Judges' Overall Comments

【Dr. Taro Yamada (from post-event X post)】

Seeing them struggle on-site, I am convinced that the future of Physical AI in Japan is bright. We will leverage this passion in policy and once again build Japan into a world-leading robotics powerhouse.

【Dr. Taku Itami (from post-event email)】

Your abilities were all very high, and I was consistently impressed. It would be great if more people knew about events like this, and if everyone felt that Japan could still compete.

■ Participant Voices (from questionnaire)

• The staff were kind, and the mentors were distinguished. This first robot hackathon in Japan was truly wonderful.

• The provision of actual robots, the high quality of the staff, and the high quality of the judges. Everything was excellent.

• I was able to deepen my knowledge about movements towards android production. My interest in Physical AI has significantly increased.

Participant Satisfaction: Average 4.75 out of 5

"I would definitely participate again": 87.5% of respondents

■ G1 Permanently Displayed at RoboLink Until May 30, Experience Available

Even after the hackathon, the Unitree G1 will be permanently displayed at RoboLink for a limited time until May 30, 2026! Every Saturday, as "Unitree G1 Operation and Development Experience," engineers who participated in the hackathon will visit RoboLink and offer visitors a chance to experience operating the robot with a controller and engage in technical exchange. Anyone who wants to touch a robot, even if they didn't participate in the hackathon, is welcome.

Exhibition Period: Until May 30 (Fri), 2026

Location: RoboLink, Robot Company Exchange Hub (6th Floor, Kado Wakamatsu Building, 559 Fujisawa, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture)

Cost: Free

Inquiries: info@yamariki-edge.com

G1 Continuous Experience Program Cooperating Companies:

■ RoboLink, Robot Company Exchange Hub

A robot company exchange hub established in Fujisawa City in the fall of 2024 as part of Kanagawa Prefecture's "Sagami Robot Industry Special Zone." Equipped with a showroom, coworking space, and seminar rooms, it functions as a place for business negotiations and joint research for robot-related companies and universities.

■ AI Beam Inc.

A company engaged in the sale of various robots and related equipment, as well as information and communication technology and software development.

■ NGS

Representative: Shun Nakadogawa. Engages in drone photography, ROS2 robot development, and programming education. Supports the continuous experience program through technical assistance in robot development.

Regarding Future Hackathons

This was held as the first installment of the "Humanoid Robot Hackathon Caravan." The plan is to hold hackathons nationwide in the future, featuring various humanoid robots as themes. Information on the next event will be delivered fastest through the RobotMateHub community (Discord).

RobotMateHub: https://robotmatehub.com

Robot and Living Future Design Hackathon, 3/27-28 Collaborators

■ Judge Profiles

Dr. Taro Yamada

Member of the House of Councillors. Deputy Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party House of Councillors, Chairman of the Environment Committee, Secretary-General of the Parliamentarians' League for Robotics. Former Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation, former Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Established the Parliamentarians' League for Robotics in March 2025 and assumed the role of Secretary-General. Leading the formulation of a new national robotics strategy. Promoting policy formation in the robotics field from a practical standpoint through discussions with relevant ministries and industries, focusing on strengthening industrial competitiveness, accelerating social implementation, fostering human resources, and improving systems and environments.

https://taroyamada.jp/

Dr. Taku Itami

Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Technology, Meiji University. Heads the Smart Mechatronics Research Lab. Specializes in walking support devices, mobility, mechatronics, and ergonomics. Engaged in research and development of shoe-type walking support robot exoskeletons and devices for lower back pain prevention from an engineering-medical collaboration perspective.

https://www.itami-robot-research.net/

Dr. Satomi Ota

Ph.D. in Media Design. Lecturer at the Faculty of Data Science, Shiga University. Special Lecturer at the Department of Music Business, Osaka College of Music. Researcher at the Media Design Research Institute, affiliated with Keio University Graduate School of Media Design. After working as a journalist for ITmedia and a producer for mercari R4D, she assumed her current position. Has lived with the robot 'Pepper' since 2014, and formed the human-robot music unit 'mirai capsule' in 2016. Her work was selected and exhibited at the 'ROBOT & MOBILITY STATION' for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.

https://www.ds.shiga-u.ac.jp/member/1481/

Dr. Yoshitaka Ushiku

Representative Director, NexaScience / Research Vice President, Omron Sinic X / Director, AI Robot Association (AIRoA). Specializes in cross-media understanding using computer vision, AI, and machine learning, and AI-driven robotics science. Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology. Selected as a "Nice Step Researcher" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2023.

https://yoshitakaushiku.net/index_ja.html

■ Cooperating Company Profiles

【Venue Cooperation】

RoboLink, Robot Company Exchange Hub (Kanagawa Prefecture)

A robot company exchange hub established in Fujisawa City in the fall of 2024 as part of Kanagawa Prefecture's "Sagami Robot Industry Special Zone." Equipped with a showroom, coworking space, and seminar rooms, it functions as a place for business negotiations and joint research for robot-related companies and universities. Provided venue and operational cooperation for this hackathon.

https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/osirase/0604/robolink/index.html

【G1 Provision】

GMO AI & Robotics Corporation

GMO Internet Group's trading company promoting AI and robotics businesses. Handles and sells cutting-edge humanoid robots from Japan and abroad, such as Unitree G1, Engine AI PM01, and RoboPath UP, and is also focused on secondary development and research of humanoids. Provided 2 units of the Unitree G1 actual robot for this hackathon.

https://ai-robotics.gmo/

AI Beam Inc.

A company engaged in the sale of various robots and related equipment, as well as information and communication technology and software development. Provided 1 unit of the Unitree G1 actual robot for this hackathon.

https://aibeam.co.jp/

【Technical Supervision】

Cognitech.DEV

A technology company that fuses robotics technologies such as 2D/3D sensing and SLAM with AI to develop applications and integrate systems in the robotics field. Based on ROS/ROS2, they specialize in mechanical design, control, and system integration, as well as AI analysis technology (AI-FTA) for structuring robot decision logic and risk factors. Provided technical supervision and operation training for the G1, and supported decision design and risk assessment for Physical AI development for this hackathon.

https://cognitech.dev/

【Technical Support】

Ohitoyoshi Lab

A startup with the mission "Enriching people's daily lives with the latest technology." Develops products like the ChatGPT-powered bartender app "Chill Bar." Provided operational and technical support for this hackathon.

https://www.ohitoyoshilab.com/

SmartLight Inc.

A specialist in spatial integration utilizing protocols like KNX, DALI, BACnet, and wireless communications such as EnOcean and LoRaWAN. Specializes in implementing "Building OS" that connects building facilities like lighting and air conditioning with IT systems bidirectionally.

https://smartlight.co.jp/

BAAO (Business AI Promotion Organization)

A general incorporated association aiming to create new harmony by fusing Japan's traditional "Wa" (harmony) spirit with AI/Robotics technology under the banner of "Democratization of AI Technology." Engages in a wide range of activities including AI adoption consulting, training/seminars, and human resource development. Provided operational support for this hackathon.

https://www.baao.or.jp/

【Video Production & Distribution】

Ichizero System

A video production and distribution creator team established in 2016. Boasts over 100,000 YouTube channel subscribers and specializes in producing and live-streaming science and technology content. Handled YouTube Live streaming and recording for this hackathon.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZt9ef5mduqqWWlYjanvNvQ

About RobotMateHub

RobotMateHub is a community platform where people involved in the robot industry gather across industries and positions in the era of Physical AI. It provides an online salon, human resource matching, and systematic learning content as a place for engineers, researchers, students, and business people to learn, connect, and build careers.

"I love robots. That alone is a reason to be here."

■ Company Profile

Company Name: Yamariki Edge LLC

Representative: Rikiya Yamamoto

Location: Futaba Building 8B, 1-16-6 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043

Business Activities: Planning and operation of robotics/AI-related events, community operation (RobotMateHub)

URL: https://robotmate-hub.com/

Inquiries: info@yamariki-edge.com / 080-2671-4028