The KMU-HIT26 team from Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) competed in the “Iwakuni Ocean Tech Days 2026,” held in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, from August 7 to 8, and won third place.

“Iwakuni Ocean Tech Days 2026” involved teams performing assigned missions using underwater robots; participating teams competed in underwater navigation and mission execution capabilities using robots they had designed and built themselves. Representing Kookmin University, the KMU-HIT26 team—composed of students Kim Jin-sung (Department of Automotive IT Convergence, Class of ’21), Yang Ryu-min (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Class of ’24), Lee Hyo-in (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Class of ’24), Kim Min-kyu (Department of Electrical Engineering, Class of ’21), Choi Dong-hyuk (Department of Electronic Engineering, Class of 2021), and Kang Hyun-min (Department of Future Mobility, Class of 2023) participated as the KMU-HIT26 team.

The KMU-HIT26 team designed and built an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of recognizing its surroundings underwater, navigating autonomously, and performing assigned missions. To ensure stable movement underwater, they installed eight propellers and built a perception and autonomous navigation system using cameras and various sensors, enabling the vehicle to carry out missions in real underwater environments.

Prior to the competition, the KMU-HIT26 team visited Hiroshima Institute of Technology in Japan to interact with local students and test the system and autonomous navigation algorithms of their self-built AUV in the university’s test tank. Given that they had to operate a robot developed in Korea overseas, they prepared for the competition by testing the system under limited equipment and environmental conditions.

At the competition site, the team faced several challenges: algorithms that had functioned normally began behaving unexpectedly, sensors malfunctioned, and issues arose with the motors and power systems. Using the limited equipment and parts available on-site, the KMU-HIT26 team identified the causes of the problems and modified the robot; through this process, they ultimately placed third in the main competition.

Through this competition, the students gained experience not only in the design and fabrication of underwater robots but also in applying and validating perception, control, and autonomous navigation systems in a real underwater environment. Furthermore, by directly resolving unexpected problems that arose overseas on-site, they were able to develop their ability to operate systems and troubleshoot issues within constrained environments.

Kim Jin-sung (Department of Automotive IT Convergence) from Kookmin University, who participated in the competition, shared his thoughts: “Although we tested and prepared thoroughly in Korea, unexpected problems—such as issues with sensors, motors, and the power system—kept arising at the competition site.” He added, “In the constrained environment of an overseas location, we worked with my teammates to solve these problems one by one using only the equipment and parts we had on hand, and ultimately securing third place made it a meaningful experience.”