A brief introduction to the World Robot Olympiad
*Can NOT advance to international finals as an individual competitor*
New to WRO?
The World Robot Olympiad (WRO for short) is an international robot competition for all children and young people aged 8-22 and is organized in USA by USEngineeringleague. We will provide information about the special features of the competition shortly:
- The competition has 4 competition categories, some with different age groups. Take a look here and think about which category you would like to take part in.
- The WRO is a team competition for teams of 2 or 3, supervised by an adult coach. Only in our starter program can you get your first taste of competition on your own.
- First, you register for one of the regional competitions for WRO USEL . There you can qualify for the WRO USA final and then for international finals.
- All robot systems and programming environments can be used in all WRO competition categories .
RoboMission
- Age: Elementary: 8-12 | Junior: 11-15 | Senior: 14-19
- Team size: 2-3 people guided by a coach
- Hardware: Free choice (new starting 2025 season)
- Software: Free choice
- Maximum size: Max. 25 x 25 x 25 cm
- Characteristics: Build and program a robot that solves challenges on a field.
WRO® RoboMission is a challenge-based competition. Students must design, construct and program an autonomous robot that can solve specific challenges on a field. Because the field is set up randomly each round, the robot needs to be able to make its own decisions during the run.
Get Your RoboMission WRO Bundle
WRO Bundle Includes
- 2025 Registration: Your Registration with for the 2025 Season will be included as part of the bundle
- WRO Mat: You will get an official WRO RoboMission mat to practice your skills on the mats that will be used for all 2025 competitions
- Official Robot: You will get an official robot that will include a build guide on how to setup and operate your WRO robot
- WRO Challenge Kits: These kits provides you with all the necessary pieces to place on the mat and complete WRO missions. You will receive both WRO challenge and expansion kits
- USEL Online Tournament App: Gain access to the 2025 online tournament platform, where teams can compete
- Curriculum: Our curriculum includes build guides and covers all the basic and advanced skills to be a high competitor at WRO competitions
Future Innovators
- Age: Elementary: 8-12 | Junior: 11-15 | Senior: 14-19
- Team size: 2-3 people guided by a coach
- Hardware: Free choice
- Software: Free choice
- Maximum size: Must fit in 2x2x2m booth
- Characteristics: Develop a robot project that helps solve real world problems.
Teams will present their project and their robot model to a group of judges on the competition day. The judges will not only grade the robot solution but will also look at aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Get Your Future Innovators WRO Bundle
Bundle Includes
- 2025 Registration: Your Registration with for the 2025 Season will be included as part of the bundle
- WRO Mat: You will get an official WRO Future Innovators mat to practice your skills on the mat that will be used for all 2025 competitions
- WRO Robot: You will get an official WRO robot that will include a build guide on how to setup and operate your WRO robot
- WRO Challenge Kit: This kits provides you with all the necessary pieces to place on the mat and complete WRO missions
- Curriculum: Our curriculum covers all the basic and advanced skills to be a high competitor at WRO competitions
Future Engineers
- Age: 14-22 (new starting 2025 season)
- Team size: 2-3 students guided by a coach
- Hardware: Free choice
- Software: Free choice
- Maximum size: Max. 30 x 20 x 30cm
- Characteristics: Advanced robotics following current research trends.
With WRO® Future Engineers we created an exciting category for older students. With this new format, we want to bring the current research challenge into schools and teach students an engineering workflow by solving real-world-problems. Teams can use any robot, controller and materials that are in line with the regulations.
Get Your Future Engineers WRO Bundle
Bundle Includes
- 2025 Registration: Your Registration with for the 2025 Season will be included as part of the bundle
- WRO Mat: You will get an official WRO Future Innovators mat to practice your skills on the mat that will be used for all 2025 competitions
- WRO Robot: You will get an official WRO robot that will include a build guide on how to setup and operate your WRO robot
- WRO Challenge Kit: This kits provides you with all the necessary pieces to place on the mat and complete WRO missions
- Curriculum: Our curriculum covers all the basic and advanced skills to be a high competitor at WRO competitions
RoboSports
- Age: 11-19
- Team size: 2-3 people guided by a coach
- Hardware: Free choice, with LEGO® or Arduino controller
- Software: Free choice
- Maximum size: Max. 20 x 20 x 20 cm
- Characteristics: Teams design 2 robots that compete with robots of another team.
With the WRO® RoboSports category we introduce a fun and exciting game where two teams each have two autonomous robots on the field playing a sports game. The robot can be built from all materials. The controller can be LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT or EV3, SPIKE PRIME or Robot Inventor or an official Arduino Controller. There is no limitation to motors, sensors or cameras used in the robot, but the maximum weight is 1.2 kg.
Get Your RoboSports WRO Bundle
Bundle Includes
- 2025 Registration: Your Registration with for the 2025 Season will be included as part of the bundle
- WRO Mat: You will get an official WRO Future Innovators mat to practice your skills on the mat that will be used for all 2025 competitions
- WRO Robot: You will get an official WRO robot that will include a build guide on how to setup and operate your WRO robot
- WRO Challenge Kit: This kits provides you with all the necessary pieces to place on the mat and complete WRO missions
- Curriculum: Our curriculum covers all the basic and advanced skills to be a high competitor at WRO competitions
Which robots can be used?
The short answer:
In general, all robot systems can be used at the WRO.
The slightly longer answer:
Depending on the competition category, there are a few special features in the rules that must be observed. For example, in the RoboMission category and the Starter Program, the robot can only be 25cm x 25cm x 25cm in size, or in the Future Engineers category it can weigh a maximum of 1.5kg. Teams that take part in the Future Innovators category can transform a stand up to 2m x 2m x 2m into a robot world and be particularly creative in doing so.
So take a closer look at the different competition categories and think about which category you enjoy the most.
WRO FAQ
How does a WRO season work?
- The course of a WRO season is recurring annually and can be briefly described as follows:
- September 2nd, 2024: Registration Begins
- December 15th, 2024: RoboPalooza @ Toyota Arena
- January 15th, 2025: Deadline To Request School Programs
- January, 27th 2025: Programs Launch
- April 2025: Regional Championships
- July 18th - 20th: 2025: National Championships
- Sept - October 2025: WRO Open Championships
- November 2025: World Finals Singapore
How do I register a team for the competition?
- Registration for a WRO season is always open from the beginning of November to the middle/end of March and takes place via our online system WRO Registration.
- When registering a WRO team, you must select the category and age group for a specific competition. After purchasing, you will be given a link to enter information such as the child’s details, parent/guardian information, contact details, and the school, state, and country. A data protection form signed by a legal guardian is only required when entering team members (not during the initial registration), and it allows us to process each participant’s data electronically. Participation is not possible without consent to electronic data processing.
Do I need my own robot? Where can I get one?
- Yes, in fact you need your own robot to participate and prepare for the competition which can be purchased here Store
- Which robot you want to use depends largely on the competition category you want to take part in.
- All robot systems are allowed in all categories at the WRO, so you can build a robot from your own materials. Always pay attention to the respective rules of the competition categories (e.g. size, weight, permitted motors or sensors, etc.).
How much does it cost to participate in the WRO?
- Each team is charged a registration fee of currently $125.00. The registration fee is used by USEL to cover the following costs, among others:
- Materials for competitions (e.g. playing field mats)
- Materials for teams (e.g. trophies and certificates)
- Public relations (e.g. flyers, posters, appearances at trade fairs)
- Covering parts of the costs of the WRO-USA finals
- Employees, office and storage space of our association
- For teams that qualify for the International Competitions, there is an additional fee.
How can I prepare for WRO competitions?
- USEL offers courses designed to help participants learn the skills needed to be effective competitors at WRO and USEL events. Our curriculum covers everything from basic movements and line following to using conditionals and working with various sensors. You can purchase the curriculum here.
Curriculum
- You can also find all previous WRO/USEL events since in our Past Events. Those from the last few years in particular offer a good orientation for what to expect from the competition. In our shop there are usually some old playing fields from the RoboMission category that are good for practice purposes.
I still have questions - where can I contact you?
- No problem at all. At the beginning of the World Robot Olympiad there is a lot of information to understand about the different categories and age groups. We are happy to answer any questions.
- If you want to check out more on USEL, check out our Youtube page where you can find videos on Events and Schools
- If you have any specific questions about the WRO season or competition category, please contact a member of our info@usengineeringleague.org | (909)-644-7545. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
I still have questions - where can I contact you?
- No problem at all. At the beginning of the World Robot Olympiad there is a lot of information to understand about the different categories and age groups. We are happy to answer any questions.
- If you want to check out more on USEL, check out our Youtube page where you can find videos on Events and Schools
- If you have any specific questions about the WRO season or competition category, please contact a member of our info@usengineeringleague.org | (909)-644-7545. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
