Kanai: We divide Japan into nine regions, and stage regional competitions starting in early September each year. Each region is assigned a number of top positions based on proportional participation.

For the technical high school classification, it’s based on the number of participating high schools in the regions. In the open classification it’s based on the total number of entries. For example, the top 4 robots (2 autonomous and 2 radio controlled) in the Shikoku regional competition will go on to compete in the All Japan finals. For the Kanto regional competition the top 12 robots (6 autonomous and 6 radio controlled) go on to the finals since the total number of entries in the Kanto region is much larger than the Shikoku region.

After all the regional competitions, the All Japan Robot Sumo final competition (3 kg. class) for the year is held on December 23rd at the Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo. Of all the robot entries for the year, only the top 64 autonomous and 64 radio controlled robots get to compete in the finals.

A competition like robot sumo inspires people on many different levels. Of course, they would all like to win - that goes without saying, so it’s a big motivating factor. There is also the learning and improving yourself aspect. People really want to demonstrate their ability, to show what they can create, both to others and to themselves.

Probably the most important factor is what we call ‘monozukuri’. A literal translation is probably “thing making”, but in the sense that we use the word in Japanese it also incorporates craftsmanship and the creative process. There’s a level of pride and ownership that takes place when an individual or team creates their robot and competes with it. Many of the competitors find that aspect of robot sumo very compelling. In fact, some of them even compare the techniques used to design their robots with the Edo era Japanese craftsmen that created samurai swords.

Kanai: Almost 20 years ago our chairman and CEO, Hiroshi Nozawa proposed combining Japan’s national sport of Sumo with robotics. He wanted it to become a way for both students and working people to get enjoyment and be inspired by applying manufacturing to a competitive challenge.

The concept was very well received, even in the early days. The 1st annual All Japan Robot Sumo competition took place 18 years ago and had a total of 147 robots. By the time the 4th annual competition took place the number of entries had blossomed to 448.

In the 5th annual competition year, a separate category was created for Japanese technical high schools, and the number of robots more than tripled. For that year’s events there were 309 robots entered by technical high school teams, and 1,228 robots entered in the general category for a grand total of 1,537 robots. Interest and participation in the competition has continued to grow fairly consistently, year after year.

Bruce Pau, office managing partner at KPMG said, “It is truly a pleasure to sponsor a group of students who plan on following admirable pursuits and who give back to the community in so many ways. Being on a team is not just about competition, it’s about sharing resources and knowledge with others so that everyone has an opportunity to succeed.” About the upcoming “Panda-monium” competition, he said, “We encourage the community to come out, see what it’s all about, have some fun and support our kids.”

Coach Killian said that being a member of a robotics team has many dividends. “These kids are inspired to pursue technical careers and want to help solve the world’s issues.” He said in 2008 alone, team members – both boys and girls – were awarded more than $100,000 in college scholarships, most of which was directly connected to their robotic participation.

Admission to the competition is free for spectators. One parent compared the atmosphere at a robotics competition to that of a typical high school basketball game. “Rock music blaring over loudspeakers, crowds roaring and mascots dancing wildly to excite the crowd into a standing ovation, as the play-by-play announcer heightens the spirit of the arena,” she said.

The sponsor’s logo will be displayed on the 2009 team robot and the team uniform. The sponsors will have a link to their business on the team Web site. A 10 X 4 banner will be displayed at the “Pascack Panda-monium” event and the sponsor is entitled to a full-page ad in the event’s ad journal. At the event, a table will be available for the display their products and/or literature.

As the new competitive year begins, Team 1676 is embarking on two initiatives: hosting a robotics competition at Pascack Hills on Oct. 18 and adding to its roster of sponsors.

Competing in robotics has been described as, “a unique varsity sport of the mind designed to help high school-aged young people discover how interesting rewarding the life of engineers and researchers can be.”  All competing teams get the same kit of parts and have six weeks to complete their robot that must be designed to perform the same specific tasks. The kit parts and tasks are different each year.

At “Pascack Panda-monium,” 32 teams from tri-state area high schools will scrimmage. Organizers expect more than 500 competitors and spectators. Kevin Killian, Team 1676 coach, said, “This is a post-season event created to bring tri-state high school robotics teams together for a day of competition, learning, inspiring and mentoring. Each team uses their unique skill-set to create a robot ‘athlete’ to play this year’s game. These kids have worked hard building their team robots, each crafting a different solution to the same problem.”

The places that fit on this description are camping areas, gas stations, train stations, bus stops, motels, bus terminals, as well as fast food and diners. Place your machines outside just right beside the front door where traveling individuals who’d just want to take a leak or stay for the night are likely to see them at first glance. Again, the appearance of your vending machine will be the key to its success.

Try choosing vending machines that are bright: in our experience, most of the sales coming from the machines located on these areas usually happens from evening till midnight, so the more conspicuous your machines are, the better. Machines that vend products from cigarettes to coffee to bathroom supplies like toothbrush, toothpaste and toilet amenities such as tissues, diapers and sanitary napkins sell well on these areas.

Learning to find the best vending machine location for your vending machines is easy once you start studying human behavior & habits and stop relying alone on guesses and assumptions.

There is a lot of information to be gained by studying potential locations together with the habits of people to get them so it is not only wise but also beneficial if you will pursue them. Just always remember; that a significant amount of sales on vending machines are made out of impulse buys.

A lot of sales can be derived out of these places if you place it on these locations. As much as possible, put your machines on or near chairs, sitting areas and smoking areas, these will be the places where people are more likely to stay and hang around therefore increasing your chances for a sale. Vending machines that sell products like coffee, cigarettes, soda, candy, and newspaper sell well on these locations.

Lastly, a good location to place vending machines is a place where people are likely to stop, either coming from a trip or because it is necessary. People who stop at these places have the tendency to buy something that they don’t really need or just see from a distance, so it will be great if you can place your vending machines on these places.

Place your machines outside just right beside the front door where traveling individuals who’d just want to take a leak or stay for the night are likely to see them at first glance. Again, the appearance of your vending machine will be the key to its success.

Try choosing vending machines that are bright: in our experience, most of the sales coming from the machines located on these areas usually happens from evening till midnight, so the more conspicuous your machines are, the better. Machines that vend products from cigarettes to coffee to bathroom supplies like toothbrush, toothpaste and toilet amenities such as tissues, diapers and sanitary napkins sell well on these areas.

Then there is the problem which place a particular product will be more likely to sell out. You don’t just place vending machines on different locations you should also need a good marketing strategy to make it work. Many people think that knowing where a good location for a vending machine selling a particular product is pretty much common sense. Wrong. Though much of the thoughts behind placing vending machines are discernible, a lot more can be learned through studying human behavior and habits.

First of all, it is important to mention that a significant amount of vending machine sales come from impulse buyers. Impulse buyers are those who aren’t looking for nor need a particular product at the moment but, out of pure impulse, buy products that they see. They buy these products just because they are there and they can. How many times have you walked into a gas station and bought coffee or soda or gone at a bus stop and purchase some gum or chocolate? A lot! Most of these things happen not because you actually need those products but because you felt at that time that you need to buy these things. It is also worthy to note that toddlers, kids and little children are included in this group.

Though they do not have access to resources like adults, their persuasion abilities (crying, begging, etc.) are one of the best potential moneymaking tools you can access; for only a handful can stand a crying and begging kid. Hence, appealing to the wants of kids is nothing but a great idea. Bring all of these into mind whenever you are looking for a place to locate your vending machines.

First of all, it is important to mention that a significant amount of vending machine sales come from impulse buyers. Impulse buyers are those who aren’t looking for nor need a particular product at the moment but, out of pure impulse, buy products that they see.

They buy these products just because they are there and they can. How many times have you walked into a gas station and bought coffee or soda or gone at a bus stop and purchase some gum or chocolate? A lot! Most of these things happen not because you actually need those products but because you felt at that time that you need to buy these things. It is also worthy to note that toddlers, kids and little children are included in this group.

Though they do not have access to resources like adults, their persuasion abilities (crying, begging, etc.) are one of the best potential moneymaking tools you can access; for only a handful can stand a crying and begging kid. Hence, appealing to the wants of kids is nothing but a great idea. Bring all of these into mind whenever you are looking for a place to locate your vending machines.