Young minds break boundaries at RoboRAVE

Climbing vertical surfaces, battling in sumo arenas and navigating labyrinthine mazes were just some of the weird and wonderful things seen at the annual RoboRAVE Australia robotics competition on the weekend (July 15 & 16).

UniSC Stadium was electric with more than 1000 budding tech entrepreneurs aged eight to 20 unleashing their creativity and technical prowess in designing, building and programming fully autonomous robots.

The event attracted record-breaking numbers and, for the first time, marked international participation with teams from China, Ecuador, India, the Philippines and Vietnam joining a total of 500 teams from across Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Forty-two local teams proudly represented the Sunshine Coast across 27 schools from Buderim to Bli Bli, Currimundi to Coolum, Maleny to Mountain Creek, Palmview to Peregian Springs and more.

Teams from Baringa State Primary School, Caloundra Christian College, Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines, Chancellor State College, Cooran State School, Genesis Christian College, Kunshan High School of Jiangsu Province in China, Scarborough State School, St Andrew's Anglican College, Sunshine Coast Grammar, Talara Primary College, and University of Queensland UQ MARS were crowned winners for their entries in the highly popular competition which is now in its fourth year.

Winners also came from Out of the BOTS, a robotics company based in Nambour, NASTRATECH from Ecuador and the DUMING STUDIO in China.

The 2023 Spirit of RoboRAVE was awarded to RoboReapers from Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines for their sportsmanship and significant effort in competing in both days of the RoboRAVE Australia Competition.

Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson officially opened the event on Saturday July 15 and acknowledged the incredible efforts of each student.

“The talent and imagination displayed was inspiring, reflecting the immense dedication and passion invested by each participating team," Mayor Jamieson said.

“There's no better place to dive into the wonders of future technologies than right here on our Sunshine Coast and each and every student should be incredibly proud of themselves.  

“As supporters of the RoboCoast and the RoboRAVE competition, Council recognises the importance of supporting STEM skills and providing a platform for our young people to push the boundaries of innovation.”

RoboRAVE Australia President Tim Hadwen said RoboRAVE was thrilled to see the event grow and attract interest from interstate and overseas students.

“The Sunshine Coast is the premier location for robotics education in Australia with the highest density of high-performing schools in robotics in the nation,” Mr Hadwen said.

“It’s fantastic to see the event grow with record breaking numbers along with international participation as we prepare to be the host location for the 2024 RoboRAVE World Championship, which will attract up to 4000 participants globally.”

Sunshine Coast Council is commitment to fostering the growth of technology-related career pathways through the Regional Economic Development Strategy.

2023 RoboRAVE Australia Winners:

A-Maze-Ing Challenge

Elementary School Division

Runner Up - Unburba Amazing 3 (Undurba State School)

Champion - GT - HIL (Sunshine Coast Grammar)

Middle School Division

Runner Up - Starbats (St Micheals College)

Champion - Scarbots Maze 3 (Scarborough State School)

Line Follow Challenge

Elementary School Division

Runner Up - YIZHUANGYIDUI (HAMENG CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING in China)

Champion - BotBoy (Out of the BOTS)

Middle School Division

Runner Up - GT Tiny Tim (Sunshine Coast Grammar)

Champion - GT Better Than Yours (Sunshine Coast Grammar)

High School Division

Runner Up - AYRA-MARS001 (Anshan Youth Robot Association in China)

Champion - Alkaid (Kunshan High School of Jiangsu Province in China)

University Pro Division

Runner Up - Insert Team Name (University of Queensland UQ MARS)

Champion - RoboReapers 01 (Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines)

Entrepreneurship Challenge

Elementary School Division

Runner Up - Genesis 13 (Genesis Christian College)

Champion - Genesis 14 (Genesis Christian College)

Middle School Division

Runner Up - Bli Bli Sci Fi (Bli Bli State School)

Champion - Dream Rainbow (DUMING STUDIO in China)

Mouse Labyrinth Challenge

Middle School Division

Runner Up - Fantasy Snails (Peregian Digital Hub)

Champion - Scarbots Mouse 6 (Scarborough State School)

University Pro Division

Champion - RoboRats (University of Queensland UQ MARS)

Alpine Challenge

Middle School Division

Champion - TPC Alpine (Talara Primary College)

High School Division

Champion - Team Flynn (Caloundra Christian College)

MegaBot Challenge

High School Division

Runner Up - RoboKnights (Chancellor State Collge)

Champion - SAAC_MegaBoyZ (St Andrew's Anglican College) (pictured above)

Lego Sumo

Elementary School Division

Runner Up - Baringa Stars (Baringa State Primary School)

Champion - MEGAbot (Cooran State School)

Middle School Division

Runner Up - PLC1 (Pacific Lutheran College)

Champion - Scarbots 14 (Scarborough State School)

High School Division

Runner Up - Green Bot Builders (Building Block Studio)

Champion - The Failures (Chancellor State College)

University Pro Division

Champion - NASTRATECH from Ecuador

Open Sumo

Elementary School Division

Champion - Baringa Battle Bus (Baringa State Primary School)

Middle School Division

Runner Up - Coolum Bug Zappers (Coolum State High School)

Champion - CSC Dominators (Chancellor State College)

High School Division

Runner Up - Blue BotBuilders (Building Block Studio)

Champion - RoboReapers 4 (Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines)

University Pro Division

Runner Up - Orange BotBuilders (Building Block Studio)

Champion - RoboReapers 2 (Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines)

2023 Spirit of RoboRAVE

Awarded to RoboReapers (pictured above) from Cavite Science Integrated School in the Philippines for their sportsmanship and significant effort in competing in both days of the RoboRAVE Australia Competition.

Fast facts:

• The 2023 RoboRAVE competition had 1100 competitors across 500 teams
• Competitors represented 42 schools and five universities
• 27 schools were from the Sunshine Coast
• For the first time, the event attracted international participation with 16 teams from China, Ecuador, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.
• Approximately 140 volunteers were vital to the event’s success. Many were parents, school staff and University of the Sunshine Coast students
• Teams could use LEGO robotics or any other type of robot provided it cost less than $1500 USD to design and build their own robots using relatively low-cost components.