Mangaluru: 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 8 to 10 October 2026. 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 3rd 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 3rd 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.
“We see robotics, together with AI, as one of the most promising fields of engineering in the years ahead, and we want CFAL students to lead in it,” said CFAL in a statement. “We have seen that when students spend time in labs and on practical work, their careers become clear to them. That is what we do at CFAL, and this team is part of that idea.”
“Our goal is not just to build winning robots, but to build students who can think, design, test and solve real engineering problems. Competing internationally gives them a platform to put that learning to the test,” said the Head of CFAL’s Makerspace.
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. It’s 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 an international stage.
- A continuing track record. Building on the team’s 3rd 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.
About CFAL
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.