Media Release

Mangaluru, Oct 4: The student robotics team of the Centre for Advanced Learning (CFAL) will compete in the qualifying stage of Battle of Robots 2026, an international combat robotics championship taking place in Moscow from October 8 to 10. According to the organisers, CFAL is one of only two teams selected from India. The students will face teams from several countries in live combat rounds.

The CFAL robotics team comprises Hari Prasad S K, Maquin Gregg Rodrigues, Anagha S R, Ishan Jemshid, Amogh C Naik, Sujay Aithala, Priyanshu Swarnakar, Likhith Madhava Arkula, B Manthan Baliga, and Aldreena Diya Rodrigues.

More than a robotics contest

Battle of Robots is an international championship in which machines built and piloted by teams of engineers and young innovators from different countries compete head-to-head in combat rounds.

At the 2025 edition, CFAL’s team was selected among 64 teams, advanced to the final stage as one of the top 16, and finished third in the 1.5 kg category.

Two machines, two engineering approaches

CFAL will field two 1.5 kg combat robots at the qualifying stage, each built around a distinct engineering approach. Bullfrog is a compact, aggressive horizontal spinner that took third place in the 1.5 kg category at Battle of Robots 2025. Twinrift is built on a four-wheel-drive system with multiple weapon configurations.

Over the past year, the team refined both machines, improving wheel, electronics, weapon, and drive performance based on lessons from earlier competitions.

The mentors behind the machines

The students designed and built both robots with guidance from their mentors, Sujan Shetty, head of CFAL’s Makerspace and a founding member of the initiative, and Harshitha Nayak, engineer and STEM educator. The team also received design, engineering, and competition-preparation guidance from Terrorbull Robotics, one of India’s leading combat robotics teams.

In a statement, CFAL noted that the institution views robotics, alongside AI, as one of the most promising fields of engineering in the years ahead, and they want CFAL students to lead in it. The management observed that when students spend time in labs and on practical work, their career paths become clear to them, which aligns with the core philosophy at CFAL and the purpose of the robotics team.

The head of CFAL’s Makerspace added that their goal is not just to build winning robots, but to build students who can think, design, test, and solve real engineering problems. He stated that competing internationally gives the students a platform to put that learning to the test.

What CFAL’s participation represents

• Real engineering, not simulation: Bullfrog and Twinrift were designed, built, and repeatedly improved by CFAL students through a hands-on cycle of building, testing, failing, and rebuilding. This is the same problem-solving approach CFAL applies across its science and mathematics programmes.

• A rare stage for Indian student engineers: As one of two teams selected from India this year, CFAL’s students will compete on a major international stage.

• A continuing track record: Building on the team’s third-place finish in 2025, this year’s campaign reflects CFAL’s continuing investment in its Makerspace and robotics programme, where students apply classroom learning to real, competitive engineering challenges.

Founded in 2004 in Mangaluru, the Centre for Advanced Learning (CFAL) is a unit of The Learning Centre Trust. CFAL builds strong foundations in mathematics and science and prepares students for premier national examinations, including JEE, NEET, and the Olympiads, as well as entrance exams for institutes such as ISI, CMI, and IISER. The institution is built around a culture of curiosity, discipline, and science learning.