Winners of the creative contests honoured at RomeCup 2026
From animal care to marine conservation, from care for the elderly to road safety: the creative robotics contests at RomeCup 2026 showcase innovation as a practical exercise in collaboration between schools, universities, research institutions and local communities.
The 19th edition once again features a well-established format, created to foster collaboration between secondary school students and academic teams. Throughout the school year, the groups worked on developing working prototypes and software interfaces, supported by universities and research centres. The final event took place today, Wednesday 29 April, at Sapienza University of Rome, in the Marco Polo Building, with the projects being presented via the ‘elevator pitch’ format.
The projects were assessed according to criteria of originality and creativity, functionality and effectiveness, complexity and interdisciplinarity, usability and accessibility, sustainability and social impact, and documentation and presentation.
The session was introduced and moderated by Cecilia Stajano, community manager at Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS. The projects were assessed by Jacopo Basili of Cna Nazionale, Fabrizio Corradi of Lumsa, Adriano De Acutis of the Rome Fire Brigade, Massimiliano Dibitonto of Olivetti, Alessia Lo Bosco of the Metropolitan City, Ezia Palmeri, MIM executive on secondment, Jacopo Tani, co-founder and CEO of Duckietown, and Massimo Villari, Head of the Data Science School at the University of Messina.
The winning projects
In the Cobot category, dedicated to collaborative robotics, the winner was Aura by the team from the IIS Avogadro in Vercelli, supported by the University of Eastern Piedmont. The project proposes a rehabilitation unit based on a robotic and adjustable exoskeleton, designed to support the movements of arms, hands and fingers and promote the independence of patients or elderly people with mobility difficulties.
In the Agrobot category, the prize went to Diet Bot, developed by the IIS Russell in Cles with the support of the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome. The prototype is an intelligent robotic feeder capable of recognising individual animals and calculating, in real time via an artificial intelligence model, the most suitable diet based on weight and biometric data.
In the Marebot category, the winner was Thalassa Boat from the IIS Marconi Pieralisi in Jesi, supported by the Politecnico delle Marche. The project consists of a catamaran designed to collect plastic from the surface of seas and bodies of water, with a vision system and control components integrated into the hulls.
In the Nonnibot category, dedicated to solutions for the care and safety of the elderly, first place went to WordShield from the IIS Giordano in Venafro, supported by the Federico II University of Naples. The smart bracelet analyses audio in real time to detect aggressive tones or situations of verbal abuse, sending an alert to carers or family members.
In the Tirbot category, dedicated to autonomous vehicles and systems for safe mobility, the winner was Road Safety and AI from the IIS De Sanctis in Rome, supported by the Roma Tre University. The system uses artificial intelligence to recognise signs of driver impairment, such as drowsiness or intoxication, and trigger audible alerts, with the aim of preventing risky situations.
The contest with Amazon and Tor Vergata
As part of RomeCup 2026, the Creative Robotics Contest in collaboration with Amazon and the University of Rome Tor Vergata also took place, with specific rules for the flight category. The prize was awarded to Robot CT from the IIS Vaccarini in Catania. The jury also awarded a special mention for design to the IIS Arangio Ruiz in Rome.
These creative contests thus confirm RomeCup as a widespread laboratory of innovation, where robotics is not merely a technological competition, but also an opportunity to examine the problems of the present, imagine solutions and develop skills that combine technical expertise, responsibility and social impact.
