National Robotics Competition Singapore 2026

What's new in 2026?

What is National Robotics Competition (NRC) Singapore?

The National Robotics Competition Singapore is one of the most anticipated STEM competitions for students in Singapore, offering a vibrant platform for young minds to showcase their creativity, coding, and engineering skills. Organized by Science Centre Singapore, this annual event brings together students from preschool to tertiary levels to solve real-world challenges using robotics and AI.

Structure and Categories

National Robotics Competition includes multiple competition tracks depending on age group and type of challenge. Team composition and hardware/software rules vary by category. The main categories are:

  • NRC Regular Category – Program autonomous robots to complete mission challenges on a game mat. Teams of 2–3 students guided by a coach or mentor; hardware must be LEGO-based (e.g. SPIKE PRIME, EV3, ROBOT INVENTOR) and robot must not exceed a size of 25 × 25 × 25 cm.

  • NRC Open Category – Tackle real-world problems by developing creative robotics solutions and presenting to expert judges. Participants can choose hardware and software freely, and design more open-ended robotics solutions.

  • NRC AI Maker Series – Explore the power of AI and machine learning in robotics with hands-on building and coding tasks.

  • NRC Pre-school – Engage young learners in basic robotics through age-appropriate, play-based challenges.

  • NRC CoSpace Robot Challenge – Combine physical and virtual robotics in a dynamic hybrid coding and navigation environment.

  • NRC Smorphi – A new challenge featuring modular, shape-shifting robots that inspire innovation and versatility in design.

Competition Day — What Teams Actually Do

Regular / Mission-based Category

  • Teams bring their self-built autonomous robots to the venue.
  • Robots participate in “robot runs” on a mission field or game mat. The field layout is randomized each round.
  • Robots must navigate, make decisions, and complete tasks autonomously based on programming and sensors.
  • Teams are judged on performance — mission success, reliability, accuracy, possibly time or efficiency depending on rules.
  • There may be multiple rounds: qualifying rounds and finals (depending on number of teams and category).
regular team and national robotics competition

Open, AI Maker, Modular, or Innovation-based Categories

  • Teams present their robotic project in a booth format (for Open Category) — typically a 2 m × 2 m display space.
  • Presentation includes project concept, robot model / prototype, demonstration (if applicable), and explanation of how the solution addresses a real-world problem.
  • For AI/Maker or modular/challenge tracks (e.g. “Smorphi”), robots must demonstrate autonomous capabilities or modular design features under specified challenge constraints.
  • Judges evaluate on multiple dimensions: design quality, innovation, technical implementation, practicality or real-world relevance, presentation clarity.
equity engineering open team

Early Learner / Pre-school Tracks

  • Very young learners (ages ~5–6) participate using kid-appropriate robotics kits. Missions are simplified to suit developmental level.
  • Tasks might involve basic robots performing simple missions (e.g. sorting, path-following, object manipulation / “environmental tasks”).
  • The focus is on exploration, basic robotics concepts, teamwork, and early exposure to STEM thinking rather than complex programming or engineering.
Students at Open Category

Register for National Robotics Competition 2026

The National Robotics Competition offers a comprehensive, real-world robotics platform for students across ages and skill levels. From autonomous robot missions to open-ended innovation projects, NRC challenges participants to think, build, code, collaborate, and present.

For our students, taking part meant more than competing. It meant growth, learning, teamwork, and exposure to the rigour and excitement of robotics. We look forward to supporting future cohorts who embark on this journey.

Register for 2026

  • Registration opens: 2026 Dates TBC

  • Competition period: 2026 Dates TBC

  • Competition Location: Science Centre Singapore

  • Eligibility: Open to students from preschool to tertiary institutions across Singapore