Sumo wrestling robots converged on this city earlier this week to battle it out in the first of nine regional preliminaries for a national robot sumo tournament to be held later this year.
Backed by their creators and owners, 175 robots wrestled their way through Sunday's Hokkaido preliminary for the 13th FSI All-Japan Robot Sumo Tournament, which comprises an adult and high school division.
Six robots from the Hokkaido preliminaries will be given the chance to compete in the adult division of the national tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Dec. 23, while another three robots will advance to a national high school meet scheduled for Nov. 11 in Gifu Prefecture, organizers said.
Robo-wrestlers in the adult division are fighting for a 1 million yen grand prize. The national high school champion will get a certificate and token. The adult bouts drew 118 robots, while 57 participated in the high school division. The bouts were divided into two categories: one for independent robots with built-in microcomputers, and another for radio controlled robots.