Filipino students notch 2nd podium finish in NASA-backed robotics tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino aerospace engineering students from Batangas State University have earned another international recognition after placing third in the 6th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge, giving the Philippines its second straight podium finish in the space robotics competition.

The Philippine Space Agency said Thursday that Team Inflection Point secured third place in the final round of the international challenge after successfully programming NASA’s Astrobee robot aboard the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” of the International Space Station. Their program competed against entries from around the world in image recognition accuracy and mission speed.

Team Inflection Point is composed of third-year aerospace engineering students Howell Dela Cruz, John Royeth Samson, Ahron Martinez, Benedict Lontok, Andrew Cabile and Amer Panganiban.

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The latest achievement follows the Philippines’ successful debut in the competition in 2024, when the same BatStateU team finished second and became the first Philippine team to qualify for and win at the Kibo-RPC.

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The team’s latest podium finish came after it emerged as the top Philippine entry during the national preliminary round, earning the right to represent the country in the competition’s in-orbit finals. A total of 27 Philippine teams applied for this year’s challenge.

Programming robots aboard the ISS

This year’s Kibo-RPC drew 738 teams from 37 countries and regions, including participants from 25 countries under the international slot of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the annual competition challenges student teams across the Asia-Pacific region to develop computer programs that command Astrobee, NASA’s free-flying robot, to complete missions inside Kibo aboard the ISS.

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“Robots are being developed to support astronauts and potentially assist in case of emergencies in space,” PhilSA said in a statement.

“The Kibo-RPC aims to train the next generation in programming robots in space for precise and swift operation, testing their teamwork and skill in predicting motion under microgravity conditions,” it added.

The final round of the 6th Kibo-RPC was conducted aboard the ISS on Feb. 28, 2026, with NASA astronaut Christopher Williams executing each finalist’s program using Astrobee. Teams were evaluated based on task completion, accuracy and speed.

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Team Inflection Point completed four of the five assigned tasks during the live test run, finishing with 216.8 points out of a possible 300.

JAXA introduced the “Oasis Zone” in this year’s competition, allowing teams to earn bonus points based on their robot’s time in the zone and its distance from image recognition targets. The agency said some routes through the Oasis Zone also required additional time, resulting in different strategic approaches among competing teams.

PhilSA said Team Inflection Point’s strong performance in the Oasis Zone played a key role in securing its overall score.

“Their performance in the ‘Oasis Zone’ contributed significantly to their result, as the new feature introduced this year offered bonus points while challenging teams to balance speed and strategy since certain routes carried additional time penalties,” PhilSA said.

The Philippine team finished just 1.6 points behind second-place finisher Team Automen of Malaysia, which scored 218.4 points. Taiwan’s Team iTron topped this year’s competition with 269.9 points.

Historic 2024 breakthrough

The latest podium finish builds on what was already a historic debut for the Philippines in the Kibo-RPC.

In 2024, Team Inflection Point became the first Philippine team to qualify for and win at the international competition after placing second in the 5th Kibo-RPC. Out of 611 teams that submitted entries, only 13 advanced to the final round.

During the orbital finals, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps ran each finalist’s program aboard the ISS. Team Inflection Point scored 250.88 out of 270 points, just three points behind champion Team Astronut of Thailand.

According to PhilSA, Inflection Point and Team Astronut were “the only teams whose programs succeeded in completing all the objectives set out by JAXA.”

The team’s members were then second-year aerospace engineering students. They returned this year as third-year students to secure another podium finish for the Philippines.

Next challenge set for July

PhilSA said the Kibo-RPC is one of the activities under the Kibo-ABC, or Asian Beneficial Collaboration through Kibo Utilization, program, an initiative established by the Space Frontier Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum.

The program promotes the use of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo, enhances the capabilities of participating organizations and encourages collaborative space projects among member countries.

As the country’s lead government agency for space science, technology and applications and a member of the Kibo-ABC program, PhilSA spearheaded the Philippine call for entries to the 6th Kibo-RPC.

The agency received applications from March 12 to May 26, 2025, attracting 27 teams from across the country, seven of which submitted complete program entries.

The 7th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge is scheduled to begin in July 2026. /dm

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