The three-day international competition ROBO-VOZÍTKO Plzeň 2026 concluded with an awards ceremony held in the assembly hall of the Secondary School of Electrical Engineering in Plzeň. The event is organised by the Plzeň Region in cooperation with the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň and the Secondary School of Electrical Engineering. This year’s 7th edition was dominated by students from the Secondary Vocational School in Planá - Štěpán Koranda and Jakub Kašpar. Second and third place were taken by students from Turkish secondary schools.
A total of 28 teams from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, China, Turkey, Ukraine and Portugal took part in the competition.
The task was to design and build a robotic vehicle, present it in English to an international jury, and complete a designated course in the shortest possible time. The vehicle had to carry a cup filled with a measured amount of water without spilling it during the run. The evaluation also included the vehicle’s design. Teams competed in the categories Best Run, Best Design, Best Presentation in English, and Overall Ranking.
“This year’s competition was truly successful. We saw original vehicles with diverse designs and were able to compare how international teams approached the construction of their robotic vehicles, how they handled the demanding track, and how they communicated with each other,” said Deputy Governor for Education and Sport Vladimír Kroc. “The highlight for us is the victory of the school from Planá among twenty-eight teams. We are proud of how well these students performed against strong competition,” he added.
The overall victory ultimately remained in the Czech Republic, with the best performance delivered by Štěpán Koranda and Jakub Kašpar from the Secondary Vocational School and Primary School in Planá. Second place went to Ömer Kaan Çelik and Halil İbrahim Taybova from Bursa Boys’ High School in Turkey. Third place also went to Turkey, to Saltukcan Özgünal and Ecrin Gülser from Yıldırım Trade Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School.
“It’s hard to believe we actually did it - I can barely catch my breath,” said Jan Botek from the Planá team shortly after the dramatic final of the Best Run category, where he and Robin Hrad defeated the Turkish team. “We came to the competition aiming to do well, but we didn’t expect to win the category,” he added. The robotic vehicle that secured their victory was developed over approximately three months. “The most difficult part was designing the stabilisation system, which required us to make many changes, especially to the chassis. In fact, it cracked just before the final, and we had to replace it entirely,” explained Robin Hrad. “We designed the vehicle ourselves, although our instructors helped with the printing,” he added. The entire project was carried out under the supervision of teachers. “We designed and built everything ourselves - when needed, our teachers mainly guided us so that we could find our own way,” said Jan Botek.
The aim of the competition is to strengthen cooperation between schools in developing digital competencies needed for the future labour market, to compare professional skills across countries, and to provide new inspiration for participating students.
More information: https://robovehicle.cz/