Combat Robotics in Schools and Universities

Combat robotics is a great way to teach engineering: students design, build, test, break and fix real machines, and they get a fun, hard deadline in the form of a competition. This page covers school and university programs, and how to start a club. See also GettingStarted and Running an Event.

High school programs

National Robotics League (NRL)

The National Robotics League is a workforce development program of the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA), launched in 2009 to get students interested in manufacturing careers.[1][2] Teams, mostly from high schools, build 15 lb robots (20 lb for walkers) and compete at regional events and a national championship.

• NRL scoring isn't only about fighting: teams also submit engineering documentation and are interviewed, and awards include best engineered robot, innovation and sportsmanship.[3]
• NRL has its own rules, with some notable differences from SPARC – for example, its posted technical regulations don't allow LiPo batteries (LiFePO4, NiMH and Li-ion are allowed).[4]
• Schools can sign up through the NRL's Start a Team page. Regional NRL programs are set up with a local NTMA chapter, a school representative and an industry sponsor.[5]
• The 2026 national championship was held in Colorado Springs in May 2026.[6]
• Related programs exist in some regions, such as BotsIQ in the Pittsburgh area.

Because only teams in authorized programs can take part, the NRL isn't listed with the open rule sets on the Rules page.

Open events and classes for schools

Many schools and makerspaces take part in regular open events instead. Two classes are especially school-friendly:

• 1 lb Plastic Antweights – robots are 3D printed from common plastics, so they're cheap to build and repair, and the damage level is low. Many university clubs start new members in this class.[7]
• 150 g (Fairyweight, called Antweight in the UK) – very small, cheap robots that fit in a small arena. Kits designed for schools and workshops include the Combat Robotics NZ antweight kit (see Kits and 3D Printing for more).

Makerspaces in several countries run 150 g build workshops for beginners.

University clubs

Combat robotics clubs are now common at universities, building robots from 1 lb up to 30 lb, competing at events such as NHRL, and often running their own competitions. Some examples:

University	Club	Notes
Brigham Young University	BYU Combat Robotics	Founded 2023. 1 lb and 3 lb robots, with competitions each semester open to other colleges and high schoolers. Recommends the plastic antweight class for first-timers.[8]
Duke University	Duke Combat Robotics	Teams build a 1 lb antweight each semester, with an internal competition; no experience needed. Its wiki has a good beginner build guide.
University of Illinois	iRobotics Combots	30 lb robots for NHRL; hosts Robobrawl each April during Engineering Open House.
MIT	MIT Combat Robotics Club	Its 30 lb robot ARES won an NHRL qualifier in October 2024.[9]
Clarkson University	Clarkson Combat Robotics	New members build 3D printed 1 lb robots; most robots are 3 lb, some 12 lb. Competes at NHRL.
Purdue University	Purdue Railside Robotics	Ran its first public tournament, the Railside Rumble, in 2025.[10]
Arizona State University	Combat Ready Robotics	Runs the 3 lb "Sun Devil Smackdown."
University of Maryland	Leatherbacks	1, 3, 12 and 30 lb robots.[11]

Many more universities have clubs, including in the UK, Europe and Australia. In 2023, NHRL gave $10,000 grants to around 100 US college robotics programs to help start or grow combat robotics teams.[12] There's no single national intercollegiate championship; college teams mostly compete at open events and at each other's campus events. RobotCombatEvents.com also publishes university rankings.

Combat robotics also shows up in coursework, as senior design or capstone projects and in fabrication classes, although most university activity is club-based.

Starting a club

1. Pick a starter class. 1 lb Plastic Antweights (in the US) or 150 g robots are cheap, safe and need only a small arena.
2. Find space and tools – a makerspace or lab with 3D printers, soldering stations and a test box. See Tools For Beginners and Test Boxes.
3. Plan a semester. Duke's club uses a 13-week plan: wiring and a simple test robot in the first two weeks, design in weeks 3–5, building in weeks 6–9, test fights in weeks 10–12, then a competition.[13]
4. Use a guide. Duke's Making your first combat robot and BYU's getting started pages walk new members through a first build. Kits are another easy start (see Kits).
5. Make safety part of the club. Use the Safety rules from day one: weapon locks, test boxes, safe battery charging (LiPo Battery Safety), and a working failsafe on every robot. Duke's club, for example, has safety guidelines with safety officers and battery incident reports.
6. Check with your school about insurance, liability waivers and any rules for student activities. Schools' risk-management offices can advise; there's no single standard.
7. Find funding and mentors – local companies, engineering departments, and robotics suppliers sometimes sponsor clubs.
8. Compete. Find events on RobotCombatEvents.com (see Events), or host your own (see Running an Event).

See also

• GettingStarted
• Plastic Antweights and Kits
• Local Groups – clubs near you
• Robot Combat History and TV