Robotics Competition 2026

Hi my name is Mariam and I am part of the robotics team in Citywise and I’ve been part of the team for five years.

What is Robotics?

Robotics is a group in Citywise, put together to develop interest and skills in robotics and programming by using Lego as well as real world problem solving revolving around a specific topic. The competition is split into four main parts. The robot game, robot design, innovation project and core values. The robot game and robot design are two very hard topics to describe with words but it can be described with pictures.

Robot Game and Design

This is Bob IV (the fourth) he is our trusty robot which we as a team have coded and designed to complete a bunch of challenges on the FLL table.

Our Innovation Project

This year our topic is Unearthed. Unearthed is about archeologists and paleontologists and the problems they face including Geological Activity, Fossil Commercialization and Colonial Legacy.

Our chosen problem derives from a myth regarding how Tallaght got its name based off a plague pit. In our research we found a piece of evidence from the 1930s talking about the origins of Tallaght’s name. Our chosen solution was to search landscapes around Tallaght using LiDar maps in search for disturbances in the ground that would signify a corpse or artefacts while also trying to create a cheaper alternative!

Our implementation started by creating a 3D printed robot which utilises LiDAR images to find disturbances which would make the search more efficient. The problem with this is, it is expensive. We found the median of price (€60,000) and multiplied it by the amount of scans it will take which is 14 (380/20). We then researched what electronic parts are needed to create a LiDAR scanner and we came to a conclusion. In total it costs around €1000 to make a working makeshift LiDAR scanner which scans 0.5km and it would decrease the price by around €1,000,000. With this device we could take upwards of 760 scans instead of the usual 18 scans.

The Competition

Each year robotics takes part in a competition hosted by the First Lego League across a multitude of countries which get split into three rounds in Ireland. Round 1 the regionals (your local city), round 2 the nationals (your country), and round 3 the internationals (global competition).

This year the competition was hosted at DCU on the twenty seventh of February, and we won the overall champions award. It was a very intense and emotional moment for us this year, because it's some of the teams last year, and we didn’t expect to win anything. This now means we are officially through to the nationals, which will take place on the 21st of March 2026.