IPN Students Shine in Romania

Reporter: Adda Avendaño / Photos: Courtesy AR-UPIITA-IPN

AR UPIITA-IPN and the IEEE-UPIITA Student Chapter earned five medals at Robochallenge 2025

Students from the Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas (UPIITA) delivered an outstanding performance at the 16th edition of Robochallenge 2025, held from October 31 to November 2 in Bucharest, Romania, where they won five medals, including one gold.

The international robotics competition brought together more than 230 teams from 30 countries, such as Brazil, Colombia, the United States, Spain, Greece, Malaysia, Turkey, and Japan. In this highly competitive field, the Politécnico team secured 1st and 3rd place in the 3lb Combat category with Cougar and Petro, developed by the UPIITA Robotics Association (AR UPIITA-IPN), as well as 2nd place with Orión from the IEEE student chapter of the same academic unit.

In the Minisumo category, AR UPIITA-IPN students also left their mark by claiming the silver medal with the robot Cortos Locos, and third place in the 1lb Combat category with Wasabi.

The proudly Politécnico delegation was composed of José Ángel Aguilar Zamorano, Juan Eduardo Torres Gracida, Braulio Roberto Crisóstomo Prado, Mihael Shamed Islas Ortiz, Alfredo Méndez Ríos, David Alejandro Becerra Paredes, Manuel Silva Pérez, Omar Emiliano Ramos Ortiz, Yael Isaí Salgado Rivas, and Guillermo Jair Llanos Miranda from AR UPIITA-IPN, as well as Luisa Fernanda Cordero Montes de Oca and Jair Rafael Olguín Lizarde from the IEEE-UPIITA chapter.

Because of his outstanding performance operating the robot Cortos Locos—which earned second place in Minisumo—student Manuel Silva received an invitation to the International All Japan Robot Sumo Tournament. He noted, however, that he hopes to secure the necessary resources to attend this annual event, which gathers participants from around the world to compete in various robot-sumo categories.

According to the students, their achievements in such a high-level competition represent the culmination of years of effort and dedication to competitive robotics. “That’s why it fills us with pride to demonstrate the technical skill and capability that allow us to place Mexico and the Politécnico on the podium,” said Aldo Martínez, president of AR UPIITA-IPN.

Robochallenge 2025 was part of the 4th Robofest, a technology festival organized by the Polytechnic University of Bucharest that brings together students, graduates, and technology enthusiasts from various educational levels worldwide to foster interest in science and technology and encourage creativity and innovation among young people.