RoboCup Competition Success in Brazil

By Ms. Jenise Boland, Social Studies Teacher

Congratulations to Kyle Gu ’26 on his outstanding accomplishment this summer! Kyle traveled to Salvador, Brazil, to compete in the RoboCup Junior Competition, where he led his team to victory in the Soccer Lightweight Robot category, triumphing over 25 international teams.

 

RoboCupJunior Soccer challenges high school teams to design, build, and program autonomous robots that compete in a fast-paced soccer environment. These robots must navigate the field, track the ball, and strategize—all without human intervention. The competition provides an exciting platform for young engineers to develop expertise in mechanical design, electrical engineering, and artificial intelligence.

 

Kyle has competed at the world level for the past three years, representing his team in Bordeaux, France (2023) and Eindhoven, Netherlands (2024) before taking first place in Brazil this past summer. His lightweight robots, each weighing under 1,400 grams, use infrared balls for play. This year, Kyle devised a new algorithm using ultrasonic sensors to redirect robots and prevent them from going out of bounds—a breakthrough that helped secure his team’s win.

 

This achievement is a wonderful capstone to Kyle’s time in the Junior League, and he now looks ahead to competing in the Major League category in 2026.

 

We also congratulate Eric Miao ’28, whose team placed second, and Ethan Xie ’28, who rounded out the Top 15.