July 11-16, 2026, 2025
Woollett Aquatics Center | Irvine, California, USA
The 29th RoboSub Competition was held at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, California, with 58 teams representing nine countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States.
Congratulations to all RoboSub 2026 teams. We’re excited to see you again in 2027! 2027 information will be published this fall.
Autonomy Challenge Awards
1st Place ($6,000): National University of Singapore, Bumblebee Autonomous Systems (Singapore)
2nd Place ($4,000): Istanbul Technical University, ITU AUV TEAM (Turkiyë)
3rd Place ($1,500): Nanyang Technological University, Mecatron (Singapore)
4th Place ($1,500): The Ohio State University, Ohio State Underwater Robotics Team (USA)
5th Place ($750): Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, AUV-IITB (India)
6th Place ($500): McGill University, McGill Robotics (Canada)
7th Place ($500): Arizona State University / Firewheel STEM Institute, Desert WAVE (USA)
Design Documentation
1st Place & Top Report & Top Video ($800): National University of Singapore, Bumblebee Autonomous Systems (Singapore)
2nd Place & Top Website ($650): Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, AUV-IITB (India)
3rd Place & Top Assessment ($550): The Ohio State University, Ohio State Underwater Robotics Team (USA)
Top Presentation ($200): Autonomous Maritime Robotics Association at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Team Unsinkable (USA)
Special Awards
Spirit of RoboSub ($500): Project Nebula, Project Nebula (USA)
Project Nebula is, simply stated, INCREDIBLE!!!! Having started at the age of eleven and now in high school their enthusiasm is contagious! Funded solely by family this team built their SUB for simplicity and reliability for approximately $650! Their limited resources led to creativity and innovation they may not have achieved with a larger budget. They are hoping to be an official club next year and keep the project going in future years. I am looking forward to seeing them compete either with their future colleges or together as an independent team!
Rookie of the Year ($500): Université de Sherbrooke, Nautilus (Canada)
For their impressive accomplishment in their first year participating in the competition.
Community & Outreach & City of Irvine Award ($500): Advancing Science Technology and Art, Team Inspiration (USA)
A great and impactful community outreach program. They are also mentoring a rookie team from Bangladesh and helping them grow.
Innovation ($500): Montana State University, Robocats (USA)
Mechanical excellence on a budget – capacitor-powered self-propelled torpedoes and novel mechanical gripper with individually o-ring clutched fingers.
Research ($500): University of Warsaw & Warsaw University of Technology, KN SPA i BLSPS (Poland)
Possibly only team to use Gaussian splatting to create datasets from automatically generated 3D models, low-cost entry from rookie team.
Sponsor Awards
MathWorks Simulation Challenge
1st Place ($1,000): University of California, Davis, Cyclone RoboSub (USA)
2nd Place ($750): Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, AUV-IITB (India)
3rd Place ($250):Tecnológico de Monterrey, VantTec (Mexico)
BlueRobotics Awards
Tx200 Thrusters (4x): Project Nebula, Project Nebula (USA)
Tx200 Thrusters (4x): South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rocker Robotics (USA)
Tx200 Thrusters (4x): University of Southern Mississippi, USM Robotics Club (USA)
Tx200 Thrusters (4x): Tecnológico de Monterrey, VantTec (Mexico)
Tx200 Thrusters (4x): New Mexico State University, Kraken Submersibles (USA)
RoboSub 2026 Detailed Scoresheet: Coming soon
RoboSub 2026 Sub-Glyphs: Coming soon
RoboSub 2026 Awards Ceremony: Coming soon
