■ The beginning of the MCU Car Rally

The MCU Car Rally is classified as line trace type robot competitions in which fully self-propelled MCU Cars controlled by microcontrollers compete in driving speed. In 1994, a salesperson from Hitachi, Ltd. at the time began activities to encourage use of H8 microcontrollers in classes at a Sapporo high school. These activities matched the direction of technical high school teachers in Sapporo who wished to incorporate control technology using microcontrollers into the curriculum, and the activities were realized in 1995. At the time, H8 microcontrollers were simply mounted onto radio-controlled cars that were currently on the market. A movement began to not only use these cars in class, but also to have an opportunity to present the results publically. This naturally resulted in the name, MCU Car. The first MCU Car Rally Convention was held at Sapporo International Information High School in Hokkaido on January 13, 1996.
Participants at the first convention and the second convention in the following year were only from the Hokkaido district. During this period, MCU Car Rally workshops were being held across the country. The convention reached a national scale from the third convention. The convention name was also changed to Japan MCU Car Rally National Convention. Nowadays, Japan has been divided into 12 districts nationwide, each with its own district office that holds regional conventions. Players who win the regional convention will compete for the championship game. This convention has evolved into the largest robot competition for high school students in Japan, with about 300 schools and about 2,500 students participating every year.
Moreover, MCU Car Rally Conventions have been held across the ocean in China and Vietnam.

■ Chronology of MCU Car Rally