The “STREAM Challenge” national programming competition, which uses Pepper and creative ideas to solve social issues as we move toward a society where humans and robots coexist. I participated as a commentator again this year. The MCs were Magical Lovely. This year’s theme was “Super SDGs.” The event was co-hosted with the RoboCup Japan Open.

A key feature of the STREAM Challenge is its connection to the real world. By receiving feedback on their ideas from experts active on the front lines, children can develop an awareness of how their ideas can be implemented in society.

This year’s Grand Prize went to Econquistador’s “Food Loss Reduction Plan.”

We want to help end food waste by eliminating leftovers from school lunches and contribute to the goal of “Zero Hunger.”

How? The women identified “short meal times” and “a lack of knowledge about food loss and its current state” as the main causes of uneaten food. In response, they focused on shortening serving times and promoting behavioral change through education about food loss.

As a result, the time required for serving meals was reduced to 75–80% of what it used to be. 97% of the students showed an improvement in their attitudes. And food waste was significantly reduced.

What impressed me was the meticulous attention to detail with which they crafted the program. For example, to ensure the message came across clearly, they fine-tuned Pepper’s speaking speed, pitch, and gestures through trial and error. The devil is in the details—and that mindset was evident in every aspect of their work.

What struck me most in the explanation of the improvement process was when they spoke of “regretting that we had created it from the perspective of the program developers.” Pepper was designed with the user in mind.

Thoroughly identify the causes, quantitatively measure the results, analyze them, and make improvements.

The future dreams of these amazing middle school students include becoming musicians, translators, and pharmacists. I can’t wait to see what kind of world they’ll create through digital technology.

The first project to receive the Excellence Award was “Pepper for Reducing the Burden on Medical Settings” by the Kakegawa Kita Junior High School Pepper Club. This Pepper robot, which monitors patients’ bowel movements and helps reduce the burden on medical staff, is named “Toilet Pepper.” I wonder if that could even be used as a product name as is?

Our goal is to promote health and well-being for everyone by alleviating the strain on healthcare facilities—which are under immense pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic—and addressing staffing shortages! We also aim to contribute to the creation of communities where people can continue to live even as they age through technological innovation in the healthcare sector!

We implemented a program that automates the recording of elimination status so that healthcare professionals can focus on their specialized duties, and installed it at the Nakahigashi General Medical Center for one week to conduct a pilot test.

Until now, discussing bowel movements has been a significant psychological burden for patients. However, since they are interacting with a robot, it has become easier for them to talk about it, and this has reportedly led to increased efficiency in nurses’ work. Pepper: a robot that supports patients’ emotional needs while also helping healthcare professionals.

I hear there have been comments like, “It improves the atmosphere on the job site” and “It’s soothing for the soul”—and that’s exactly what makes using humanoid robots so great!

The presentation also featured creative touches, such as a visual display inspired by a new product launch.

Healthcare, government, and education are three sectors where digitization has been slow to take hold. They are also three sectors that have been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s truly remarkable that, within one of these sectors—the healthcare field—they’ve created something that’s been well-received by both healthcare professionals and patients.Although they are currently conducting a pilot program at a medical center, the solution incorporates perspectives that could not have emerged without carefully listening to the voices on the ground, and their commitment to sincerely addressing these challenges is evident.

The second Excellence Award winner was “Supporting Fundraising with Pepper” by the Aokita Fundraising Supporters.

It seems the news of the massive mudslide that occurred in the Izuyama district of Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, inspired them to step up fundraising efforts at their school.

By utilizing Pepper, we can do more than just ask for donations—we can also provide detailed information about the issues at hand. As more people take an interest in social issues and make donations, a “spirit of mutual support” takes root. It’s a wonderful idea that this is the very first step toward realizing a sustainable society. I was deeply moved by the fact that Pepper expresses gratitude when someone makes a donation—a gesture that likely arose precisely because of that underlying spirit of kindness.While the novelty of a robot conducting a fundraising campaign draws people in, the robot’s interactions are warm and welcoming. That’s what really appeals to me. With the pandemic leading to more situations where robots are stepping in to replace people, it would be wonderful if Pepper could also take the lead in fundraising campaigns across the country. By the way, I heard they raised 5,560 yen.

The first Special Award goes to Team KOMA for their project, “Pepper: Let’s Eliminate Food Waste.”

This initiative aims to help address Japan’s “food waste” problem by reducing “uneaten food” in school lunches, and to help students recognize that they are key contributors to a sustainable society and world.

Initiatives designed to encourage students to reduce food waste were evident throughout the program, such as the “Mogu Mogu Points” system, which records meals eaten in full and awards points for them. It was wonderful to see that, when developing the program, the creators incorporated feedback from a wide range of stakeholders—including teachers and parents—and made repeated improvements based on that input.

As with their presentation, their ability to organize information to convey social issues was truly outstanding. I was also deeply impressed by their meticulous approach to developing the program—carefully incorporating feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers and parents, and repeatedly refining it through trial and error. The way they blend digital and analog methods—such as using picture-story shows—to convey their message adds a warm touch, making this a highly commendable initiative.

The second Special Award went to Fujieda Municipal Hanashi Junior High School for their project titled “Let’s Share Information from a Junior High Student’s Perspective to Raise Disaster Preparedness Awareness.”

As part of “activities aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation, and building resilience against disasters,” the initiative reportedly sought to enhance the resilience of people living in the school district against natural disasters such as earthquakes and heavy rain, with the goal of enabling them to protect their own lives and those of their loved ones in the event of an emergency.

To help people gain a deeper understanding of hazardous areas and disaster prevention measures so they can act safely and with peace of mind, we shared disaster prevention information from the perspective of middle school students. To this end, we conducted detailed surveys on local evacuation sites, hazardous spots along school routes, disaster preparedness measures at home, and Fujieda City’s natural disaster countermeasures. We also held interviews with staff from Fujieda City Hall and the Community Exchange Center.We then installed a Pepper robot at the Community Exchange Center and aimed to put the system into practical use by refining the program based on the results of a trial run. As a result, we reportedly received a request from the Crisis Management Center to appoint Pepper as the “Fujieda City Disaster Prevention PR Ambassador.” As the expression “we were able to create a major stir” suggests, I believe this initiative provided a catalyst for reflection among a wide range of citizens.Isn’t this the first time in Japan that Pepper has been appointed as a disaster prevention PR ambassador?

I hear this was part of a project in a “technology class,” but it’s wonderful that the students continued to explore the topic on their own after class.

I imagine this was a task that required a great deal of patience—from the preliminary research and interviews to identifying areas for improvement after the system was installed. The fact that you saw it through deserves praise.

The third Special Award goes to “Convenience Store Clerk Pepper” by MPC-Miwa Pepper Club.

A program designed to address the issue of staff shortages at convenience stores. Pepper solves this problem by interacting with customers. Features include efficient checkout functions for handling customer transactions, product recommendations tailored to the weather and customer preferences, region-specific features that introduce tourist attractions, inventory management functions for centralized product information, and an automated mail pickup feature.The range of features is truly diverse. It’s great that the proposal is tailored to on-site needs—for example, by developing a practical program that utilizes actual product data in collaboration with 7-Eleven.

The Junior High School Challenge Award went to “Pepper: Safe Learning Even During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” created by the M&A Information Club at Kasada Junior High School.

This is a proposal to utilize Pepper to reduce teachers’ workload during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the quality of instruction. Pepper collects information on students’ health, manages it centrally, and reports it to teachers. How convenient! What’s more, it teaches students through fun activities like math word chains and addition battles. A pilot program at a nearby elementary school reportedly received high praise.

Using ICT to reduce the workload on teachers while improving the quality of instruction is a perfect fit for the GIGA School Initiative currently being promoted by the government. I strongly urge you to implement this in schools across the country.

The Elementary School Challenge Award went to “Pepper, Who Helps Out with the Horticulture Committee’s Work,” by the Okabe Elementary School Horticulture Committee.

A challenge at Okabe Elementary School is that students sometimes forget to water the flowers. To address this, the school developed a Pepper robot that tells students who is in charge of watering that day. Furthermore, it retrieves weather information from the Japan Meteorological Agency and determines whether watering is necessary based on precipitation levels.Going forward, the school aims to use sensors capable of measuring humidity to assess on-site conditions with greater precision and improve the accuracy of decisions regarding watering.

Using data to water the flowers efficiently and appropriately—that’s amazing. I’m excited to see what the future holds for these children, who are carrying out their school duties with a focus on data utilization.

We have also established a community called the “Super SDGs Lab” dedicated to research and activities related to the SDGs. It is a collaborative project between B Lab, Kyoto University, and the Kyoto Super SDGs Consortium.

Our goal is to create an environment in which society as a whole supports the efforts of individuals and organizations working to implement the SDGs. In particular, we aim to encourage young people to take action on the SDGs.

This is exactly the kind of initiative that supports the children’s efforts in the STREAM Challenge.

I hope to see this movement—in which children take an active role in society, identify issues, come up with concrete ideas to solve them, and put those ideas into practice—spread across the country.