Urubots gains experience in their RoboCup debut and prepares to represent Uruguay in South Korea

Composed of students from UTEC Rivera, the Urubots robotics team already has experience in international university competitions.

In 2023 and 2024 they competed in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup —in Germany and Brazil, respectively— where they achieved first place in the Mission Impossible subcategory in their debut, and two third places in the Humanoids and Autonomous Cars categories in the most recent edition.

This year they took it a step further, qualifying for RoboCup for the first time, considered one of the most important autonomous robotics competitions in the world. This achievement marked a new milestone for the team and for UTEC.

For this competition, six team members (one instructor and five UTEC students) traveled and participated in two professional categories: Rescue and Work.

“Rescue” Category

Urubots stood out by achieving first place in the “Mobility” subcategory, earning the highest score; and fifth overall in “Rescue,” only falling behind top-tier teams from Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Germany.

This positive result is even more significant considering that the robot they competed with—a Go2 quadruped model that mimics a dog's gait—arrived at UTEC's labs just two days before their trip. Until then, the students had trained with another robot they developed themselves in the university's lab.

However, after evaluating the mobility skills of the Go2, they decided to take the risk of competing with it despite the little rehearsal time. The challenge in the “Rescue” test was for the robot to autonomously navigate hard-to-reach scenarios to detect, map, and rescue objects.

Industrial “Work” Category

The students designed and programmed autonomous cars with which they finally competed. The challenge was for these robots, pre-programmed by the team, to move independently and manipulate objects in a simulated industrial environment. In this test, the team scored points and placed seventh among 10 teams.

“We had a very good performance. Our goal was to qualify and score points so we could be back here next year. We did it. Especially in Rescue, it was a great surprise because we scored a lot of points. Now it's time to work towards the next edition,” said UTEC instructor Ricardo Grando, who accompanied the team.

To make their participation in Brazil possible, the team had the institutional support of UTEC, the Ministry of Education and Culture, Antel, Banco de Seguros del Estado, UTE, and the Departmental Government of Rivera, as well as small businesses that helped with logistical and operational contributions.

Next destination: South Korea

From August 11 to 15, Urubots will travel to Daegu, South Korea, to participate for the third consecutive time in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup, where they hope to improve on their previous performances. This time they will compete in four categories: Pro Autonomous Cars, Under-19 Autonomous Cars, Drones, and Humanoids.

The trip represents a new logistical and financial challenge. The estimated cost is between $2,500 and $3,000 per person, and the goal is for eight students to attend the event to represent Uruguay in this demanding international tournament.

Companies or institutions interested in collaborating may do so through donations, sponsorships, or logistical support (transportation, accommodation, meals). For more information about supporting the team, contact them at urubots.itrn@utec.edu.uy and carolina.bazzi@utec.edu.uy.

Note taken from https://elpueblodigital.uy/lzgc