The 2026 RoboCup Junior Australia SPIKE Prime Challenge,“Survivors of the Future: Robots on a New World,” inspired students to imagine bold and creative solutions for life on new and unfamiliar worlds. This year, judges were delighted by the wide variety of autonomous robots designed to explore unknown environments, support future communities and solve complex problems.
Teams demonstrated impressive creativity, curiosity and engineering thinking as they transformed ideas into purposeful robotic solutions. Many submissions clearly explained how their robots addressed the challenge brief, showcasing thoughtful links between the robots’ features, their missions and the needs of future survivors.
A standout feature of this year’s competition was the quality of the design journals. Judges particularly enjoyed reading journals that took them on the team’s design journey through sketches, inspiration images, planning documents, prototype photographs and testing evidence. The strongest submissions demonstrated a willingness to iterate, refine and improve ideas over time. Rather than simply presenting a finished robot, teams shared the challenges they encountered, the solutions they explored and the lessons they learned along the way. This process of testing, evaluating and redesigning is at the heart of engineering and was clearly evident across many projects.
The judges were also impressed by the collaboration and teamwork displayed throughout the competition. Students worked together to design, build, program and troubleshoot their robots, often overcoming significant technical challenges through perseverance and shared problem-solving. It was wonderful to see schools that have participated in previous SPIKE Prime Challenges continue to innovate and build upon their past experiences, introducing increasingly sophisticated ideas and design approaches each year. Equally exciting was the contribution of new teams, who stepped confidently into the challenge and showcased fresh perspectives, imaginative concepts and innovative thinking that enriched the competition for everyone.
As we celebrate the achievements of all participants, the judges would like to encourage teams to continue sharing their learning journeys through authentic student voice. Journals are most powerful when they capture the students’ own ideas, explanations and reflections. Comments such as “We wanted our robot to explore the new world,” “We used the sensor to help the robot find its way,” or “We changed our design when it didn’t work the first time” help judges better understand the thinking behind the project and appreciate the growth that occurred throughout the process.
Congratulations to all teams for your creativity, innovation, teamwork and determination.
Your robots gave us an exciting glimpse into the future, and we look forward to seeing what you create next.
2026 Spike Prime Challenge Podium
ACT, SA, Tasmania, WA
🥇 1st – RESIAK – Canberra Girls Grammar School
🥈 2nd – RSS Maskia – Canberra Girls Grammar School
🥉 3rd – MEC – Mars Environment Corp – St Augustines Primary School Rivervale (tied)
🥉 3rd – Creepy Crawly – St Augustines Primary School Rivervale (tied)
New South Wales
🥇 1st – We Have Bot This – Sturt Public School
🥈 2nd – TurtleBot – Thomas Hassall Anglican College
🥉 3rd – Nameless Terrors – New Lambton South Public School (tied)
🥉 3rd – Hallum – Gardeners Road Public School (tied)
Queensland
🥇 1st – Project: Last-Resort – Independent (Melissa Burton)
🥈 2nd – Ctrl-Alt-Elite – Glasshouse Christian College (tied)
🥈 2nd – STUPI – Gumdale State School (tied)
🥉 3rd – Hydra Coders – Gumdale State School
Victoria
🥇 1st – The Healthy Squad – Tintern Grammar
🥈 2nd – Cosmic Claw – Our Lady Help of Christians
🥉 3rd – NOFT – Patterson Lakes Primary School