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    Registration Open for the 2026 Unmanned Robotics Boat Challenge

    15 May 2026

    Remember last year’s Unmanned Robotics Boat Challenge(URBX)?

    In 2025, 19 teams gathered at the Taicang Campus of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), designing and building their own unmanned boats to complete navigation and target recognition challenges in real water conditions, showcasing the innovative capabilities of university students in robotics and intelligent engineering.

    In 2026, the competition has been fully upgraded—introducing the 3v3 Unmanned Robotics Boat Water Football Match, now open for registration!

    This time, your unmanned boat must not only "run" but also "play football."

    (Note: Video generated by AI for demonstration purposes only; does not represent final competition rules )

    Moreover, this competition will serve as a special session of the IEEE 11th International Conference on

    Underwater Systems Technology:

    Theory and Applications (USYS 2026).

    For conference details, visit https://www.usys26.com/index.html

    How Does the Game Work?

    The competition will be held on the Zhu Jing River, a natural watercourse at XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Two competing teams will face off in a 20m x 11m area marked by buoys. The objective is to control unmanned boats to shoot red balls or colored balls into the opponent's goal.
    ⚽ Dual-Ball Mechanism:

    • Red Ball: 1 point
    • Colored Ball: 2 points
    🤖 Autonomy Bonus:

    • Fully Autonomous Goal: Score x 3
    • Semi-Autonomous Goal: Score x 1
    In other words—scoring with a colored ball (2 points) + completing it fully autonomously (x3) = a maximum single score of 6 points!Technical capability and tactical strategy will jointly determine victory. With different base scores for two types of balls multiplied by different multipliers, what brilliant strategies will your team devise?

    Event Information

    Location: XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), No. 111, Taicang Avenue, Taicang City,  Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China

    Date: 17–18 October, 2026

    • Oct 17: Site familiarization & autonomous debugging
    • Oct 18: Official matches & awards ceremony

    After passing the video qualification review and qualifying round (if applicable), 8 teams will compete in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals to win the championship trophy and a prize pool totaling over ¥20,000. Please refer to the Rulebook at the end for details.

    What Will You Gain from This Competition?

    Cutting-edge Autonomous Navigation Tech: Design and implement fully autonomous water navigation, obstacle avoidance, tracking, and shooting strategies.
    Interdisciplinary Engineering Practice: Integrate mechanical design, embedded systems, power management, ball-control mechanisms, and safety protection.
    Team Collaboration & Competitive Experience: Teams consist of 6–12 members with up to 5 unmanned boats (max 3 on the field simultaneously), experiencing real tactical coordination.
    Incentive for Full Autonomy: Fully autonomous goals are tripled in score, encouraging intelligent decision-making without human intervention.
    Substantial Rewards:

    • Total prize pool exceeds ¥20,000.
    • Champion: ¥10,000
    • Runner-up: ¥7,000
    • 3rd/4th Place: ¥3,000 each
    • Special Awards (Best Appearance Design, Best Autonomous Performance, Best Mechanical Design): ¥1,000 each.
    PDP Practice Hours (Benefit for undergraduates at XJTLU Taicang):
    Up to 200 PDP hours! 100 hours for passing Node 03 (video review) and another 100 hours for participating in Node 05 (final event).

    Registration Now Open

    Click the link below to register:

    https://survey.xjtlu.edu.cn/vm/QCUocu.aspx

    Registration Deadline: 21 June, 2026.

    Each team must fill out the registration form, including basic information about team members and the team leader.

    Notes:
    • Team Formation: Open to university undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students worldwide (no nationality or grade restrictions). Teams must have 6–12 members.
    • Team members should possess diverse skill sets, including mechanical design, electronics, programming, object detection, deep learning models, and control systems.
    • Teams must submit a qualification video by August 31 to be eligible for the September qualifiers and October finals.
    • There is no registration fee for the 2026 competition.
    • Participants are responsible for their own travel, accommodation, and meals.
    • Boat construction costs are self-funded.
    • Participants must agree to abide by competition safety regulations and codes of conduct.
    • A high sense of teamwork and responsibility is required.

    Contact Us

    Organiser
    School of Robotics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
    Contact
    Dr Wenjun Zhu
    Email: wenjun.zhu02@xjtlu.edu.cn
    Tel: 0512-88607440
    Detailed Rules 

    15 May 2026