The CHOBOT team from Chomutov won a regional robotics competition and will fly to the USA
On Thursday, November 27, 2025, the Faculty of Science of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, in cooperation with the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region, organized the first Regional Robotics Competition inspired by the international FIRST Robotics Competition.
Four high school teams from our region competed at the SLUNETA Sports Center: CHOBOT from Chomutov, CircuitBreakers from Litoměřice, LEDbot from Ústí nad Labem, and PaperBox from Štětí. The winning team secured participation and the opportunity to represent the Ústí Region and the Czech Republic at the prestigious FRC competition, which will take place in April 2026 in the USA.
The teams were created thanks to the ROBUL project, which was launched two years ago by ICUK and subsequently taken over and financed by the Faculty of Science of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. Originally, the Ústí nad Labem ROBUL team represented the Czech Republic at the international FRC competition in Chicago (2024) and Denver (2025). Today, there are four teams – and the winner of the regional competition will fly to the USA under the joint ROBUL brand.
The ceremonial opening of the competition was led by three guests: 1st Deputy Governor of the Ústí Region Ing. Jindra Zalabáková, UJEP Rector doc. Jaroslav Koutský, and ICUK Director Ing. Martin Mata. Together, they officially launched the first year of the competition, which is completely unique in the Czech environment.
The teams faced five disciplines, which they had to master in both manual (RC) and autonomous (AUTO) modes. The competition tested technical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to react quickly in a dynamic environment.
The MAZE opened the competition – the robots navigated the track twice in manual mode and twice in autonomous mode. The best time from each mode was counted. For each touch of the track boundary, the teams received a penalty in the form of extra seconds. The CHOBOT team performed best in this task.
MOVING OBJECTS tested quick reactions, accuracy, and precise control. The robot had to avoid rolling balls that moved unpredictably across the surface. Points were awarded to both the dodging robot and the team that hit the robot with the ball. The CircuitBreakers team performed best in this discipline.
The third task, called RINGS, was the only one in RC mode. The robots collected and sorted various objects, with the teams choosing their own strategy to earn as many points as possible. The game tested the ability to manipulate, plan, and coordinate movements effectively. Once again, the CHOBOT team earned the most points.
The LASERS task, based on aiming and evading laser targeting, ended up the same for all teams. One robot tried to evade the lasers, while three opposing robotic towers tried to hit it. This task tested aiming accuracy, reaction speed, and strategy in both RC and AUTO modes. The task ended up the same for all teams – each got the same number of points.
The final SLALOM required precise maneuvering between obstacles – “cones,” which was demanding in terms of precise steering and good spatial orientation. Once again, the CHOBOT team performed the best.
Final ranking:
4th place – LEDbot (4 points) — team from SPŠ Resslova in Ústí nad Labem, mentors Dominik Vostrovský and Daniel Trnka, 4 members.
3rd place – PaperBox (9 points) — team from VOŠ Packaging Technology and Secondary School in Štětí, mentors Jakub Škrabánek and Josef Jindra, 12 members. Won the Audience Award and the PR and Marketing Jury Award.
2nd place – CircuitBreakers (16 points) — a team of high school students from the Institute of Technical Education in Litoměřice, mentors Jan Štěrba and Jindřich Černý.
1st place – CHOBOT (26 points) — a team from SPŠ and VOŠ Chomutov, mentors Jan Krejčí (Faculty of Science, UJEP) and Jan Jakub Petrovec. The team also won the Expert Jury Award and will represent the Czech Republic at FRC 2026 in Denver.
“This win is a huge motivation for us. As a team, we have shown this year that we can combine technical skills, team spirit, and a desire to learn new things — and it is also gratifying that the number of girls participating in technical competitions is growing. It is precisely the diversity of our skills and knowledge that will help us in the competition in Denver. I am proud of what the team members have achieved,” said Jan Krejčí, chief mentor of the CHOBOT team.
In the first week of January, part of the team will travel to Eindhoven, where they will meet with European robotics teams at the headquarters of the world-renowned Rembrandts team. Together, they will watch the official 2026 Kick-Off Event, where they will learn the complete rules and the form of the competition tasks. After their return, several weeks of intensive work will begin—design, prototyping, construction of the playing field, programming, and testing.
“The first year of the regional competition exceeded our expectations. The tasks were attractive not only for the teams but also for the spectators. The world competition will be much more demanding, but CHOBOT is a great team that I believe will represent us successfully. And the other three teams will certainly not be idle. We are preparing further activities and development opportunities for them,” added Tamara Klein, guarantor of the “Robotým pro mezinárodní soutěže (ROBUL)” activity and ICUK project manager.
The regional robotics competition showed how much talent and creativity is growing in schools in the Ústí nad Labem Region. Each of the teams proved that when students are given the space to create, experiment, and overcome obstacles, projects with European and global potential emerge. This is just the beginning—and today’s students may be the ones who will soon change the technological future of our region.
The competition was supported by the SLUNETA Sports Center, which provided the venue and excellent facilities, and Mondelez International, which supplied the players with energy in the form of cookies.
You can find out more about the ROBUL team on their website: robul.cz or on FB/ IG.
TV Nova produced a report on the Regional Robotics Competition. You can watch it HERE.