`'Ultimate Robot'' Contest At MIT to be Sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric; 13th Annual International Design Contest Emphasizes Creativity, Collaboration.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

CYPRESS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2002

Mitsubishi Electric  Corp. will be a principal sponsor of the 13th Annual International Design Contest (IDC) on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Aug. 3-16, 2002.

Organizers of the contest include NHK Enterprises 21 Inc. (Japan's national television broadcaster) and several major international universities: MIT, Tokyo Institute of Technology , Cambridge University in Great Britain, Darmstadt Institute of Technology in Germany, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Seoul National University in South Korea, and a team representing several French universities.

The primary goal of the contest is for team members to overcome language and cultural barriers to expressing their ideas as they work together to build a machine. The students come together to form multi-national teams to design and produce machines under specific regulations, using online design tools and state of the art laptop computers.

Each team is given 12 days to design, build and assemble their robot using only basic materials that they are given.

Every year a different theme is presented to participants, who are selected through internal contests at each university. This year's theme is "Rock & Roll," and the students will build machines that score points by moving balls and hockey pucks onto scales or swinging a pendulum.

"This contest is special in that it is not only about the results, but also about the pleasure of creativity and exercising the imagination," said Tsutomu Fukuma, general manager, advertising department, Mitsubishi Electric.

"As the world becomes a smaller place, cooperation between people with different nationalities, languages and cultures is vital for understanding, growth and prosperity. Engineers with global experience, solid interpersonal skills, and a passion for research and development will have an advantage during their careers.

"Each participating university includes a course in its curriculum to help students cultivate their creativity and imagination in this manner. This contest gives students the opportunity to use their talents in an international environment, and have a lot of fun in the process."

The final contest will be held on Aug. 16, from 1-4 p.m. in room 26-100 on the MIT campus.

Mitsubishi Electric will launch a special IDC Web site that will present an overview of the contest, offer links to related activities, and feature regular IDC updates. The URL is http://www.idc-robocon.com/e/index.html and will be online starting Aug. 1.

About Mitsubishi Electric

With more than 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general consumers around the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (FTSE:6503q.l) is a global leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment.

The company has operations in 35 countries and recorded consolidated group sales of 3,649 billion yen ($27.4 billion) in the year ended March 31, 2002. For more information about Mitsubishi Electric, visit www.Global.MitsubishiElectric.com.