A rugby-playing "robot" designed and built by UC Davisundergraduate engineering students was awarded "best design" in a nationally televised Japanese robotic competition earlier this month. The only U.S. entrants, the UC Davis team joined 17 other university squads for Robocon '95 in Osaka. The Japanese public broadcasting station NHK sponsored the event, where mechanical and electrical engineering and computer science students combined their skills and creativity. Each robotic vehicle was designed to navigate an obstacle-ridden course without human help, place its rugby ball on a tee and kick the ball between a goal post. After the obstacle course, a student inside at the controls then directed the device to collect and kick 17 rugby balls through one of three goal posts.