Laurentian University Robotics Team Wins Multiple World Championships at FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2026

July 29, 2026 — The Laurentian University Robotics Team (SnoBots) brought home a sweep of international titles. and event records from the 2026 Federation of International Robot-sports Association (FIRA) RoboWorld Cup, held July 17 to 21 in Markham, Ontario.

Competing against top teams from more than 15 countries—including Taiwan, South Korea, China, Brazil, and Turkey—Laurentian students proved their leadership in humanoid robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous vehicles.

Key Highlights

In its debut appearance in the Autonomous Cars Challenge Physical (Pro) division, Laurentian students delivered a dominant performance by winning four out of five challenge categories, setting multiple event records, and claiming the Overall League Championship.

The SnoBots also excelled in humanoid robotics, taking 2nd Place Overall in the Kid-Sized Pro division and 3rd Place Overall in the Adult-Sized Pro division across mobility, manipulation, and hybrid events.

Local youth innovation shone as well: two Sudbury Under-19 (U19) teams, SnoBots Jr. and Roboparks LU,  comprising students from MacLeod Public School and Marymount Academy who train in Laurentian's laboratory. SnoBots Jr. was crowned the U19 Overall Champion, while ROBOPARKS LU earned 2nd in Marathon and 3rd in Basketball.

Beyond the field of competition, students Brooke Vrbanic and Walter Iran Amador Valenzuela showcased their scholarly impact by presenting peer-reviewed research papers at the international FIRA Summit.

"Winning on the international stage—especially sweeping four categories in our autonomous car debut—is a testament to the world-class talent here at Laurentian," said Dr. Meng Cheng Lau, Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Laurentian Intelligent Mobile Robotics Lab (LIMRL). "Our students poured countless evenings, weekends, and holidays into designing and testing these complex systems. Seeing their hard work pay off against top global teams makes us exceptionally proud." 

Student Competitors

Graduate Students: Kyle Spriggs, Xingyu Zheng, Walter Iran Amador Valenzuela, Haoliang Sheng, Santhosha Chilkamarri, and Babatunde Omoyele.

Computer Science Undergraduates: Brooke Vrbanic, Anna Livinska, Nicolas Belanger, Pathin Pritesh Vyas, Mondli Gina, and Austin Barrett.

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduates: Tapsirou Dia, and Adam Chebbi.

SnoBot Jr.: Jay-qi Lau, and Arthur Richard

Roboparks LU: Thalia Baird, and Chenrui Shi

Sponsors & Support

Led by advisor Dr. Meng Cheng Lau, the team’s international success was supported by university leadership and industry sponsors IAMGOLD, KGHM Polska Miedź, and Technica Mining.