A summary of the Final Round results has been added to the ACTIVITY tab!
Kibo Robot Programming Challenge
The Final Round winners are selected! Congratulations!
Save ISS with Robots!!!
Emergency alert is activated!!
A meteor crashed to the International Space Station and the air is leaking.
Create your own program to operate the robot and stop the air leakage.
JAXA needs your help.
Get your program uplinked immediately!!
This story is a fiction.What's New
Date | Note |
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October 30, 2020 | |
October 16, 2020 | We are honor to announce the winner of the Final Round. Enjoy watching the video of the Final Round! |
September 29, 2020 | JAXA and NASA conducted the ISS rehearsal of the Kibo-RPC Final Round on September 24th. The Final Round will be held on October 8th, with a limited access by the finalists only. The result will be officially released in a video format to the public later. Please look forward to it! |
August 21, 2020 |
We will postpone the final round scheduled for September to around
October.
Download page has been updated with the following:
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August 5, 2020 | Web page has been updated with the following:
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July 15, 2020 | The simulation environment has been updated. The following features were added:
Web page has been updated with the following:
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June 26, 2020 | With exceptions, all countries/regions have completed the Preliminary Round. The simulation environment has been updated. The following features were added:
Web page has been updated with the following:
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June 8, 2020 | Web page has been updated with the following:
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June 1, 2020 |
All countries/regions are in the Preliminary Round period.
Web page has been updated with the following:
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May 25, 2020 |
All countries/regions closed their applications for participants on May
24, 2020.
Web page has been updated with the following:
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May 18, 2020 | Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan closed their applications for participants on May 7, 2020. Web page has been updated with the following:
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May 1, 2020 |
Thailand closed the application for participants on April 19, 2020. Web page has been updated with the following:
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April 20, 2020 | The simulation environment has been updated. The following feature was added:
Web page has been updated with the following:
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April 17, 2020 | The application deadline has been extended. Considering the difficulty of organizing team members under the COVID-19 situation, we have decided to extend the application deadline again. Other schedules are not changed and preliminary round will be held as planned in each domestic countries. Kibo-RPC is the programming competition using web, therefore you can remotely develop programs and participate in the event via internet. Join us and beat COVID-19! Web page has been updated with the following:
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April 13, 2020 | Web page has been updated with the following:
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March 30, 2020 | The simulation environment has been updated. The following features were added:
Web page has been updated with the following:
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March 24, 2020 | System maintenance was completed without any problem. Website has been updated with the following:
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March 12, 2020 | System Maintenance Announcement We will conduct a server maintenance on March 23, 2020 18:30 JST to March 24, 2020 18:30 JST. JAXA's simulator will be unavailable for 24 hours. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this interruption. News
KUOA news: Website has been updated with the following:
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February 26, 2020 | The simulation environment has been updated to version 2.1, and the following feature was added:
Website has been updated with the following:
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February 18, 2020 |
The Guidance Session of Kibo Robot Programming Challenge will be held on
the date In Japanese It was carried out on the following schedule. Date: 19:00~, Thursday, February 25th 2020 (JST) In English It was carried out on the following schedule. Date: 15:30~, Friday, February 28th 2020 (JST) Thank you for your participation. |
January 29, 2020 | The simulation environment has been updated. The following feature was added:
Website has been updated with the following:
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December 25, 2019 | The simulation environment has been updated. The following features were added:
Revised guidebooks and programming manuals are now available on the download page. Added FAQ page. |
November 25-29, 2019 | The secretariat participated in Kibo-ABC WG/APRSAF-26 and discussed the Kibo-RPC event with each country/region. |
November 20, 2019 | Simulation environment and Programming Manual are released. Revised Guidebook and Programming Manual are now available on Download page. |
November 12-15, 2019 | JAXA conducted a simulation verification test of Kibo-PRC, in collaboration with NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC). |
October 11, 2019 | Call for participation has started. |
Your Mission
Your mission is to create a program to operate Astrobee and stop the leakage by pointing the laser.
Since limited number of programs can be sent to Astrobee in ISS/Kibo, JAXA seeks several best candidate programs from the Asia Pacific region and the United States.
Let's join the competition. Int-Ball will support Astrobee as a camera drone.
What is Astrobee?

Astrobee, NASA's new free-flying robotic system, will help astronauts reduce time they spend on routine duties, leaving them to focus more on the things that only humans can do.
(Link to NASA website )What is Int-Ball?

Int-Ball is a free flying camera robot aiming to reduce crew time and ultimately to zero for routine video-shooting tasks by crew in ISS/Kibo.
(Link to JAXA website )Entry Qualification

Students up to graduate school in Kibo-ABC member country/region expressing the participation in the Kibo-RPC can apply for the competition.

A team is comprised of more than 3 members.
*1 Kibo-ABC countries/regions:
Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Rep. of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam.
Kibo-ABC URL: http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/kibo_abc/
*2 Kibo-RPC countries/regions (As of June 2020):
Australia (ASA, OGL), Indonesia (LAPAN), Japan (JAXA), Singapore (SSTL), Taiwan (NSOP), Thailand (NSTDA), United Arab Emirates (UAESA).
How to Enter the Kibo-RPC
All countries/regions closed their applications for participants.

Fill in the Application Form and submit to Kibo-RPC point of contact (POC) of your country/region listed below.
Participating countries/regions of Kibo-RPC (As of June 2020):
Australian Space Agency (ASA):
https://www.industry.gov.au/about-us/our-structure/about-the-australian-space-agencyMr. Bob Carpenter and Ms. Jackie Carpenter:
Application deadline:
May 24th 2020 (24:00 AEST)
Ms. Fitri Nuraeni:
Ms. Rasdewita Kesumanirgrum:
Application deadline:
May 7th 2020 (24:00 WIB)
Kibo-RPC secretariat:
Application deadline:
May 24th 2020 (24:00 JST)

Ms. Gillian Chin:
Application deadline:
May 7th 2020 (24:00 SST)
Mr. Shan-Kuo Yang and Dr. Joe Fong:
Application deadline:
May 7th 2020 (24:00 TWT)

Mr. Paritat Theanthong:
Application deadline:
April 19th 2020 (24:00 ICT)

Ms. Hamda Faisal Al Shehhi:
Application deadline:
May 21st 2020 (24:00 GST)

Mr. Mizanul Hoq Chowdhury:
Participated as an observer in 1st Kibo-RPC

Kibo-RPC POC will inform you ID of your team via email.
High Level Schedule
Event ScheduleCall for Participation
Application Deadline
Preliminary Round
Qualification Round
Final Round in ISS/Kibo
Initial Release
2nd Update
Game Story
A meteor shower entered the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) at 400 km above the ground. One of the meteors hit ISS, and a part of the ISS module was damaged causing air leakage.
The damaged section turned out to be the Japanese experimental module “Kibo”. We need to identify the damaged place and repair it using Astrobee because the air pressure is getting lower in “Kibo” and scattered items prevent astronauts to enter “Kibo”. In order to identify the damaged place precisely, we must search in “Kibo” module and find the leak point by collecting information using Astrobee with the support of Int-Ball being as a camera robot. Then we need to weld it with a laser. Without proper welding, the damage may expand. The time is limited!!
When air leaks from a hole made by a meteor, some scratches on the walls and floors were made by the scattered items in “Kibo”. By analyzing each scratch, we judge whether it is the cause of the air leak point or not. Until the air leak point is identified, we must continue our search. Therefore, image processing is indispensable for analyzing scratches with the Astrobee’s camera. At this moment, the air leak point seems to be small enough to be welded with the Astrobee's laser based on the drop rate of the air pressure in ISS. However, if the Astrobee’s laser targets a wrong spot, it may expand the hole.
Accuracy of the location and the laser pointing is the key for stopping the air leakage successfully.
Currently, astronauts are in a process of evacuation and flight controllers on the ground are busy supporting them. We want to leave Astrobee's control to each country/regions's volunteers to save “Kibo”!
* This story is a fiction.
Get Started
Follow these steps to create and simulate your own programs! Don’t forget to read Kibo-RPC Guidebook and Programming Manual for details.
Please view the video on PC.
Past Kibo-RPC Guidance Session video clips. (Credit: JAXA)
Machine setup
Set up your machine according to the Programming Manual Section 2.
Check the specifications of your PC, install Android Studio, and download additional components of the Android Studio.
Environment: Android Studio
Language: Java
Install template APK
Download template in the download page and follow the instruction at Programming Manual Section 3.
Note: Simulator will not work properly unless you use the specified template APK.
Create the program
Use the Guidebook and Programming Manual for your reference.
Game configurations can be found on the Guidebook while API details, sample code, and other information can be found on Programming Manual.
Upload APK to server
After creating your program, build and upload your program to JAXA’s simulation server.
Run the simulation
It takes about 30 minutes for the simulation to finish.
View result
Brainstorm with your team and use the result to improve your program.
Participate in Preliminary Round
Participants will participate in Preliminary Round held in each country/region.
Preliminary Round period is from May 28 to June 14 (JST).
Questions about the Kibo-RPC are accepted any time.
Note
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We cannot answer the following questions:
- About other participants
- About program code contents
- Before asking a question, please check the FAQ, Guidebook, and Programming Manual.
Past questions are posted on Google group.
When asking technical questions, please fill in the required information below.
Questioner | |
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1 | Your Name |
2 | Team Name |
Contents | |
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1 | Step(s) you did on Programming Manual |
2 | Problems, things you want to know, additional information |
3 | PC specs |
4 | Date and time (Please include timezone) |
5 | Screenshot, additional data (if any) |