There is no fee to register a team or attend Unibots events.
Take part in Unibots UK
Start a team. Build something brilliant.
Bring together some curious people, build an autonomous robot, and put your ideas to the test against university teams from across the UK.
2025-2026 season sign-ups are closed. Get in touch to hear about the next season.
Your starting point
You do not need to be a robotics expert
Unibots is designed to give students a friendly route into practical robotics. Teams can start with any level of experience and choose how ambitious to make their solution.
There is no maximum team size, although smaller groups are often easier to coordinate.
Universities can enter more than one team, with each team registered separately.
Lecturers and technicians can advise, but students should do most of the design and build.
Start a team
Four steps from idea to arena
Find your people
Enter with friends, coursemates, or a university society. You do not need a complete team list immediately, and multiple teams from one university are welcome.
Read the challenge
Use the rules to understand the arena, scoring, robot limits, and safety requirements. There are many valid approaches, so choose a strategy your team can build and test.
Open the 2026 rules →Register your team
Register each team separately. If some details are still uncertain, send your best estimate and confirm the final team with the organisers later.
Build early and ask questions
Start as soon as you can, test often, and bring questions to the participant Discord. Event facilities are intended for minor emergency repairs rather than major building.
Ask the community on Discord →
2026 robot essentials
What are you building?
A compact autonomous robot that competes in the arena, collecting ping pong balls and steel ball bearings to score.
- Starting size: 200 x 200 x 200mm
- Maximum size with extensions: 300 x 300 x 300mm
- All decision-making and processing must happen within the robot
- No laptop or internet-based processing during a match
- Teams balance mechanics, electronics, software, and match strategy
The competition year
Build, practise, then compete
Regionals let teams try the arena and improve their robots before the two-day finals. Regionals do not determine qualification, and teams may attend multiple.
Regional
Edinburgh
28 February 2026
The National Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University
Practise and improveRegional
Cambridge
21 March 2026
University of Cambridge
Practise and improveTwo-day finals
London
27-28 June 2026
Queen Mary University of London and University College London
Main competition
Finals weekend is more than the competition.
Alongside practice matches and a full day of head-to-head competition, teams can take part in networking, flash talks including sponsor talks, and a robotics-themed team activity.
Good to know:
Teams cover their own travel and accommodation. The organisers can provide supporting
evidence if you are applying to your university for funding.
Request funding evidence
More ways to succeed
Competition prizes and awards
Winning matches is not the only thing worth celebrating. Unibots also recognises interesting engineering and teams that share their journey.
Regional certificates
The top three robots receive certificates after each regional league competition.
Finals prizes
The top three robots receive prizes after the finals knockout competition.
Creativity and Technical Award
Recognising the robot with outstanding creativity, technology, or design.
Blogging Award
Recognising a team that shares its build journey through social media or a blog.
Participant questions
Everything teams commonly ask
These answers bring the participant FAQ into one place. The rulebook remains the final source for detailed competition rules.
Joining and attending
When should we start building?
As soon as possible. Start when you return to university and avoid leaving the main build until the last minute. Events only have facilities for minor emergency repairs.
Is there a registration or attendance fee?
No. There is no fee to register a team or attend events.
Do you provide travel funding or accommodation?
No. Teams cover their own travel and accommodation, but the organisers can provide evidence to support a university funding request. Email unibots.uk.comp@gmail.com.
Can we attend multiple regional events?
Yes. Teams may attend multiple regionals, but travel costs are not sponsored.
Does our robot need to be finished for a regional?
No. Regionals are for trying your robot in the arena and learning before finals. A somewhat working robot will make the day more useful, but it does not need to be finalised.
How many teams or team members can we have?
Universities may enter multiple teams, and there is no maximum team size. Each team should register separately.
Can lecturers or technicians help?
They may give advice and check designs, but students should complete most of the design and building work themselves.
Robot and match rules
Can the robot hold any number of balls?
Yes. There is no maximum number of ping pong balls or ball bearings the robot may hold.
Can the robot connect to a laptop or external device?
No. All processing, including computer vision and action prediction, must happen within the robot during a match. A Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, other single-board computer, or phone contained within the robot may be used, but it must not use internet-based processing. During robot safety inspections, we will be asking questions for this, and during the finals teams will not be allowed to compete unless the judges are satisfied that the robot is doing all its own processing.
Are ball bearings inside the robot scored?
Yes, provided the ball is touching the robot or another ball that is physically attached to it. A ball merely surrounded by the robot without touching it is not counted.
What happens when robots collide?
All robots that are colliding are reset as previous years, however, this year, if the balls are contained within or physically attached the robot (such that when the robot is picked up, the balls come with it) the balls will be kept within the robot (see rule 1.11.2).
The process for a reset happens like so:
- Two (or more) robots collide
- If the robots are in contact for 3 seconds (assessed by the referees), the scoring system plays a buzzer noise
- A 10 second reset timer begins
- The robots are picked up by the field resetters, and handed back to the teams
- The teams wait until the 10 second reset timer is complete, the scoring system will play another buzzer, then can place their robot back into the arena in their starting zone (the team can press their physical start button again as per rule 1.11.3)
What if our robot is larger than the size limit?
Finals inspections use exact 200 x 200 x 200mm and 300 x 300 x 300mm sizing tools. Robots that do not fit cannot compete for prizes. Regionals may allow robots that are only slightly over-size (by 20-30mm) so teams can still practise.
Team registration
Ready to begin?
Complete the form below to register when sign-ups are open. If Google Forms does not load on your device, use the direct form link instead.
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