Friday, May 31: Farewell to Switzerland

Waking up at 5:30 a.m. to catch the train wasn’t fun, especially considering we were simultaneously saying goodbye to Winterthur. Nevertheless, the group bid our farewells and boarded the train to Zurich Airport. Thankfully, Apple was there to help, keeping some of us entertained and awake. 

Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31: Last days in Japan

After weeks of immersing ourselves in the vibrant cultures of Korea and Japan, Thursday marked our final full day in this beautiful country. Having worked hard throughout the trip, we were rewarded with a well-deserved free day to explore and savor Japan's wonders one last time.

Thursday, May 30: Robot competition!

Today began with the final fine-tuning of the software and mechanical parts for our robots. We spent the first half of the day working and preparing for the competition. After lunch, the competition began! 

Thursday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29: ETH capstone presentations and final robot adjustments

On Tuesday, May 29 we continued testing our robots in the morning before leaving for ETH (the university Einstein attended) to listen to their mechanical engineering students present their capstone projects.

Wednesday, May 29: Mt. Fuji excursion

Today, we met in the hotel lobby to discuss the previous day. We talked about the positives and negatives of the extended reality equipment at Tokyo Tower. Then, we took a two-hour bus ride to Mount Komagatake, hoping to get a great view of Mount Fuji. Along the way, we saw many beautiful mountains with towns nestled in them. 

Tuesday, May 28: Red Tokyo Tower and TeamLab Planets

Today, we conducted an academic visit to Red Tokyo Tower and teamLab Planets. At Red Tokyo Tower, there were numerous virtual reality (VR) attractions, along with several augmented reality (AR) attractions. We enjoyed experimenting with the concepts we've been studying for the past few weeks.. 

Monday, May 27: Tokyo University

Today, we made our way to Tokyo University. We began our day with a discussion about the research being conducted there before hopping on a train headed for the university. Upon arriving, we took time to explore and take in the beautiful campus before saying hello to our peers from Tokyo University.