Cyprus's premier educational robotics festival, Robotex Cyprus 2026, opens today at the Athletic Centre of the University of Cyprus, running through Sunday 28 June from 10am to 3pm each day.
Now in its ninth edition, the Pancyprian Educational and Sports Robotics Competition brings together around 700 participants, including schoolchildren, university students and adults, competing across more than 20 robotic challenges. The event is organised by the Cyprus Computer Society, which announced that the official opening will be delivered by Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nikodemos Damianos, reaffirming the ministry's longstanding support for the competition.
Also present will be Nathan Matsala, Chief Executive of Robotex International. His attendance carries particular significance: Cyprus was the first country in the world to develop the Robotex model at a national level. Matsala will also brief participants on Robotex International 2026, which for the first time will be held outside Estonia, taking place in South Korea. Winning teams this weekend will earn the chance to represent Cyprus at that international event, continuing what organisers describe as an impressive run of international distinctions by Cypriot delegations in recent years.
What to expect
Saturday's programme includes robots competing on line-following tracks, folkrace circuits, bowling and archery courses, alongside two parallel drone competitions featuring autonomous flight and a new programming challenge. Primary school teams will also present robotic constructions on the theme of sustainable development and a green island, proposing innovative solutions to environmental and social challenges. For the first time this year, visitors will be able to watch drone football on a specially designed pitch by STEAM Cyprus.
Sunday shifts to sumo robot battles, a 15-metre rally track and a shot-put challenge. The programme also includes the established Girls Firefighting competition, open exclusively to girls, aimed at encouraging greater female participation in STEAM fields. Sunday's highlight will be the popular "Human vs Robot" chess challenge, in which the SenseRobot intelligent robot, in collaboration with the KAISSA Chess Club, will face young and experienced chess players alike.
A new addition to this year's festival is the Planetarium team, which will run interactive activities on space exploration and artificial intelligence applications. On both days, Robo.com.cy will operate a Pitstop technical station for competing robots and will showcase the Kypruino and RoboRover Core, two innovative products of Cypriot design and manufacture. Visitors can also look forward to virtual reality experiences, 3D printing and other STEAM activities from CCS and organisations including ECECT, Novatex, O3 and the European project INVESTech. The Bank of Cyprus youth brand JOEY will offer gifts and surprises, and the robotic dog Laika from Neapolis University will make its annual appearance at the event.
Source: CNA
