MPPS Robocup

Save your work here in the shared Google Drive: MPPS RoboCup Files

2026 Dates
TERM 1

Monday 23 February 2026 – National Launch Day (online)
Monday 23 February 2026 – Registrations open for the SPIKE Prime Challenge (online)
Saturday 7 March 2026, 1.00 pm – 4.00 pm – Teacher Workshop (Venue TBA)

TERM 2

Saturday 16 May 2026, 1 pm – 4 pm Student Workshop at St John’s Catholic Primary School, Auburn
Saturday 27 June, 2026, 1 pm – 4 pm Student Workshop at MLC Burwood
Saturday 25 July 2026 – Sydney Regional RoboCup, Thomas Hassall Anglican College

TERM 3

Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th August 2026 – NSW Open Competition

TERM 4

October 2 - 4, 2026 – Australian Open National Championships, Canberra
November 2026 – SUMO Competition

General Rules of RoboCup 2026 - these apply to all challenges.

RoboCup is split into four challenge areas – OnStage, Rescue, Maze and Soccer. Each team needs to choose which challenge they wish to enter. Each of these challenges has an entry-level division which is most suitable for beginners:

Riley Rover Rescue (Spike Prime)
Maisy maze (Spike Prime or EV3)
Simple Simon Soccer (Spike Prime or EV3)
Ollie OnStage (1 robot) or Novice OnStage

To make a start:

Read the rules on https://www.robocupjunior.org.au/
Make a plan, do your research, brainstorm ideas
Construct your robot (s)
Program your robots
Test your robots and make changes as necessary

Teams must have between 2 - 4 students.

Beginners Guide - RoboCup Australia - Robotics Competition

Beginner resources: https://www.robocupjunior.org.au/resources/beginners/

2026 Updates

There have been a lot of update sto the rules in 2026. Make sure you check the rules thoroughly to see changes marked in red. For example, the technical description paper is now to be presented as a poster.

Validation of work

All teams must submit annotated code.

In Rescue and Soccer, to be elligle for a special award they must submit an A3 poster.

In OnStage, teams are scored on their Performance, Technical interview, and a submitted Technical Description Poster.

Electronic Submission
Before registration closes, each team must electronically submit their poster and program or source code to the event organisers via the event web site or as otherwise directed. Teams can continue to work on their robot, programs and this journal after submission.

Just for fun - Robot Wave
http://legoengineering.com/the-wave/index.html
A great way to start the year. Work together as a class to make all the robots perform a synchronised action. I suggest all robots have the same build to be successful.

A lesson plan for this (plus other great lessons) is also available in Damien Kee's book:

SpikePrime_ Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher.pdf

Basic Robot Wave Program

Wait for the assigned delay time.
Drive forward for 1 second.
Drive backward for 1 second.

The important part is the delay before each robot starts moving.

Each robot waits a little longer than the one before it:

• Robot 1 waits 0.5 seconds, then drives forward.

• Robot 2 waits 1 second.

• Robot 3 waits 1.5 seconds.

• This pattern continues for the rest of the robots.

To work out the delay, multiply the robot’s group number by 0.5 seconds.

Example:

Robot 7 → 7 × 0.5 seconds = 3.5 seconds wait time.

Robot Wave sequence 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖

Adjust your seconds so your robot reaches the line and then returns exactly to its starting point. Test and refine until it is accurate.
Line up robots
Place all robots in a straight line, facing the same direction.
Practise starting all robots at the same time “Ready, Set, Go”.
Set your delay time
Use your allocated wait time: 0.5 s, 1.0 s, 1.5 s, 2.0 s, 2.5 s, etc.
Start together
On the count “Ready, Set, Go”, all robots press start on “Go”.

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