Success of our students at the International Rover Challenge 2026

Students of the University of Warsaw (UW), working within the UW Robotics and Automation Student Association, achieved significant success at International Rover Challenge 2026, which took place from 28 January to 2 February 2026 in Udupi, Karnataka (India). The university was represented by an eight-member team of students from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics at the University of Warsaw, and the College of Interdisciplinary Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Warsaw. The UW team finished 8th overall and received the prestigious Emerging Team of the Year Award. More than 30 academic teams from around the world took part in the competition.

The International Rover Challenge is one of the most renowned robotics competitions worldwide, bringing together over 30 academic teams from across the globe. The challenge involves the design, construction, and testing of autonomous Mars rovers that must complete tasks inspired by real space missions. The UW team placed 8th in the overall ranking and won the prestigious Emerging Team of the Year trophy.

The University was represented by an eight-member team from the UW Robotics and Automation Student Association, composed of students from the Faculty of Physics, the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, and the College of Inter-faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MISMaP). The team members were: Mateusz Kamiński (team captain), Michał Birecki, Joanna Mali, Piotr Maksymiuk, Oliwier Matysek, Filip Nogaj, Korneliusz Obarski, and Zuzanna Ossowska.

“The experience from the competition was truly great. The International Rover Challenge was not only an extremely interesting experience for us, but also a very solid test of our rover. In everyday university conditions, it is difficult to fully test all its functions in realistic environments, such as driving over challenging terrain, operating the robotic arm, or using soil analysis modules. In India, we had the perfect opportunity to do so,” says Mateusz Kamiński, team captain and physics student within the MISMaP College.

The competition consisted of four main challenges. The first involved remotely operating a special control panel using the rover’s manipulator, based solely on camera footage. The second task required navigating a vast “Martian” terrain with obstacles, locating distributed tools, and transporting them to designated locations. The third challenge focused on terrain exploration, including not only visual inspection but also soil analysis, moisture measurement, and sample collection to assess potential conditions for life on Mars. The final stage was a team presentation, during which students presented the team’s organization, approach to promotion and sponsor acquisition, as well as the entire process of designing, building, and testing the rover.

The team achieved its best results in the terrain reconnaissance task, thanks to the use of an innovative suspension system and unconventional wheels. This allowed the UW rover to overcome all obstacles that posed difficulties for other vehicles.

Logistics also proved to be a major challenge.

“We dismantled the rover in Warsaw and transported it by plane in ten checked suitcases. We were probably the only team that decided on such a solution,” emphasizes Mateusz Kamiński.

For the team, these were their first-ever and first international competitions, which made securing 8th place and winning the Emerging Team of the Year Award a huge surprise and a source of pride.

“We are pleased that the solutions we implemented over the past year worked so well. It confirms that our work was well thought out and carefully planned, although of course there is still room for improvement,” adds the captain. As he emphasizes, this is a shared success of all members of the association who contributed to the construction and testing of the rover.

As the team members note, this success would not have been possible without the support of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw, which provided both substantive and financial assistance from the very beginning—covering the purchase of rover components as well as the organization of the trip. Some rover components were manufactured in MakerspaceUW, a creative space operating at the Faculty of Physics. Other project partners include AluxProfile, Botland, MESco, Ansys, AISLER, Onshape by PTC, the Council of Scientific, Social and Artistic Organizations of the University of Warsaw, and the University of Warsaw Incubator.