In the summer of 1993, it was the Tokyo Institute of Technology's turn to host the International Robot Contest. This contest has been held every year since 1990 at some of the world's most top-ranked universities and institutes, including MIT. This time, there were eight teams of six people, each team fielding a robot with advanced manipulatory skills. The test in this hi-tech sport was to put tubes into a box with two openings just big enough for the largest of the tubes.