About the competition

Details

  • First Event Date: Saturday, October 4th, 2025, 08:00 - 16:30
  • Location: St Andrews International School Bangkok
  • Number of Teams: 30 (maximum)
  • Age Limit: 8-14 years old
  • Team Entry Limit: Maximum of 4 teams per organization
  • Competition Format: Fully autonomous challenge
  • Next Event: May 2026
  • Cost to enter team: 4000 Baht

Competition Release Schedule

  • April 2025 – Competition Kickoff Announcement & Team Sign-Up

    Team registration officially opens! Once teams have signed up, the following materials will be shared directly with schools:

    • Challenge Overview: A high-level introduction to the autonomous competition, outlining the purpose and scope.
    • Teaser Materials: Engaging content to build excitement and generate buzz among students and mentors.

  • Mid-May 2025 – CAD Files & Preliminary Game Rules Released

    • Environment Exploration: Early CAD models of the competition field will be released to help teams familiarize themselves with the design space.
    • Basic Guidelines: Key rules regarding team composition, robot dimensions, and eligibility criteria will be provided to guide early planning.

  • End of May 2025 – Full Challenge Details (Excluding Final Game)

    • Competition Format: A detailed breakdown of the competition structure, including scoring methods, ranking systems, and event logistics.
    • Design Resources: Additional CAD files will be released to support more advanced stages of robot design and strategy development.

  • Mid-June 2025 – Sample Materials Distributed to Schools

    • Hands-On Support: Sample materials will be sent to schools to assist teams in the robot-building process.
    • Starter Design: A sample robot concept will be shared, offering foundational guidance for teams new to prototyping.
    • Build Phase Begins: Teams are encouraged to start prototyping and testing their ideas.

  • August 26, 2025 – Final Game Reveal!

    • Official Game Release: At 13:00, teams will receive their first look at the finalized game challenge!
    • Strategy Session: A 90-minute window will follow for teams to brainstorm, discuss, and conduct initial testing.
    • Let the games begin! This marks the official start of detailed game strategy development and final robot iterations.

Competition Awards

Teams will compete for a variety of awards recognizing innovation, teamwork, and engineering excellence.

  • Robot Autonomous Champion

    Best overall performance in the autonomous challenge.

  • Location

    St Andrews International School Bangkok

  • Number of Teams

    30 (maximum)

  • Age Limit

    8-14 years old

  • Team Entry Limit

    Maximum of 4 teams per organization

  • Competition Format

    Fully autonomous challenge

  • Next Event

    May 2026

  • Cost to enter team

    4000 Baht

Other Details

Understanding our CAD Models

The CAD model provided serves as a visual reference only and should not be taken as an exact representation of the final competition setup. While the multi-story tower in the model may resemble the actual challenge and reflect the correct number of levels, teams should not rely on it for final design decisions.

  • Tracking the game object:

    There will be designated ways to track the game object’s movement on the multi-level structure.

  • Environmental features:

    Elements such as walls, corners, and tracking lines will play a role in navigation.

  • Raising the RAT flag:

    Specific details regarding the tag mechanism required to release the flag will only be revealed at the August game design reveal.

Finalized design insights: Official photos of the completed challenge setup will be published in August, ensuring teams have a clear understanding before the competition.

A True Student-Centered Competition

At RAT Foundation, students take the lead. This competition is all about fostering innovation and independence, while adults serve as facilitators only. Students will be responsible for:

  • Designing and programming their robots.
  • Managing their time and available resources.
  • Presenting and explaining their work to judges.

A structured event setup will be in place to ensure limited coach interaction, reinforcing a truly hands-on, student-driven experience.

Judging & Team Presentations

Each team will participate in a 5-minute interview with event judges. During this session, teams will:

  • Explain their robot’s build and coding approach.

  • Describe the pre-built components they brought to the event.

  • Showcase modifications made within the 1.5-hour adjustment period.
  • Detail time and resource management strategies.
  • Discuss potential improvements for future competitions.

Final Thoughts

The RAT Foundation Robotics Competition is built to challenge students in problem-solving, programming, and design, all while encouraging collaboration, creativity, and resilience.

With a strong emphasis on real-world robotics applications, engineering, and innovation, this competition will inspire the next generation of roboticists in an exciting, high-energy, and student-driven environment.

Get ready to innovate, build, and compete! Stay tuned for more updates as the challenge details unfold!ext here...