1. Only primary or secondary school students are eligible for this competition. Students from Integrated Programme or international baccalaureate school below the junior college level can also take part.
2. All primary students and secondary students in Singapore can participate in this competition. All teams can participate in either the Light Robot category or the Heavy Robot category in the Exploration Challenge.
3. Each school can send up to four (4) six (6) teams for the Challenge. Each team may be allocated to either the Light Robot, Heavy Robot or DIY Robot categories. (Updated 5 Apr 2026) There can be up to 5 students in each team.
3.a. [Update: 12 May 2026] Each school can register up to two (2) teams for each of the three categories (Light, Heavy, DIY robots).
4. Light Robot competition category permit the use of robots that are typically VEX IQ robots, Lego robots and any other robots with similar power and weight characteristics.
5. Heavy Robot competition category robots are typically VEX robots and any other robots with similar power and weight characteristics. If teams build their robots from raw parts, then they must ensure that the DC motors that they use are comparable to the VEX motors in terms of power.
6. The newly launched DIY Robot competition category robots are robots which are built from basic parts like Arduino or ESP32 microcontrollers, DC motors, motor drivers and other electronic components. Platform based robots like VEX and Lego robots are not permitted to be used in this category. The organizers will decide in individual cases. Please seek clarification from the organizers before proceeding if ensure. For beginners, a Getting Started guide in Annex D will provide instructions on how to build a basic robot that can be used for the competition. (Clarification 5 Apr 2026: The DIY robot must be used to participate in the Robotics Challenge game as described in Annex B.)
7. The organizers reserve the right to decide whether a team’s robots fall under the Light, Heavy or DIY categories, and they also have the right to disqualify a team if its robots are deemed unsuitable for the category they were registered under. Teams should check with the organizers if they are not sure of the category of their robots.
8. Teams are NOT allowed to register very powerful and heavy robots under the Light category.
9. All teams must be administered by a teacher of the participating school; a team led by a coach is not allowed to participate.
10. Robot(s) submitted for the competition must be built and programmed by the students. Teachers and coaches may teach and advise students, but should leave the implementation to students.
11. Robots may NOT be shared across multiple teams. The robots used by each team must be built and programmed by the members of the team. Individual parts such as motors and wheels may be shared if the school has a shortage of parts, but there must not be sharing of entire portions of robots, such as arms, as these require effort to build. Similarly, CPUs must not be shared.
12. All entries to the DSTA-DSO-VJC Robotics Challenge should be made using the online registration form at the Challenge website: https://sites.google.com/vjc.edu.sg/ezrc2026/
Teams must prepare and bring all the equipment, software and portable computers they need during the tournament.
Great flexibility will be given to teams in the construction of the robots, with few restrictions being placed. This is to encourage the exercise of creativity and problem-solving skills by students.
The robots must be designed in such a way that they do not damage the floor of the venue used in this year’s Challenge. Approval of the robots’ design is left to the discretion of the judges.
Any form of remote control can be used to control the robots. Typically, radio remote control sets are used, although proprietary Bluetooth remote control systems can also be used. Lego Mindstorms NXT robots can also be controlled using handphone Bluetooth apps.
If teams choose to control their robot(s) using radio control sets, they must ensure that a microcontroller (e.g., Lego RCX) on the robot is interpreting the signals from the radio receiver. Teams cannot control their robots using a radio receiver with servo-motors attached directly to it.
Robots may be constructed using parts from either the Lego Mindstorms kit or from other parts including raw parts, or a combination of both. Teams are allowed to combine parts from multiple sources. The key restriction is that the robots must be designed and constructed by the students, and not simply assembled from a purchased kit. [Clarification on 15 May 2026: The use of electronic parts from platform kits such as Vex or Lego, including motors, is not allowed. The use of non-electronic parts for constructing the robot body is allowed. ]
In the consideration of teams' robots for the additional awards, credit will be given to robots that demonstrate good mechanical or design skills on the part of the students. Robots constructed using kits such as Lego or VEX will be given less credit on account of the greater ease with which such robots can be built.
Teachers in charge should ensure that the robots constructed are not dangerous in any way to the students. Other than these precautions, students may apply their ingenuity to the fullest.
Robots may either be controlled using one or more microcontrollers of any type, including the Lego Mindstorms RCX or some other types of microcontroller devices like the Vex robotic microcontroller, Arduino or Raspberry Pi microcomputers.
Multiple microcontrollers may be used on any robot.