Engineering students battle for robot combat success

An afternoon of epic robot clashes took place at the Tech Park in Bognor Regis last week, as Engineering students from the University of Chichester battled for the title using robots they designed themselves. 

Made popular in the 1990s by the BBC TV series ‘Robot Wars’, robot combat is alive and well in 2025, thanks to the annual contest at the University of Chichester. Each year, 1st and 2nd year degree students work on group projects to design and build their own robots from scratch, meeting to conceptualise and develop their plans into something practical and achievable. Six student teams took to the specially constructed arena at the Tech Park to battle their way through to the closely-fought final.

Group 3 emerged victorious with their robot ‘Lamorak’, driven by engineering student Toby Andrews. Toby said: “In week one, I came 4th, I’d overdone the attachments and let the pressure get to me. By week two, I stripped the flipper robot back to its core design and focused on staying calm. That mindset shift made all the difference. I won the competition and took down five spinner robots. Sometimes, keeping it simple and trusting your design is all you need.”

Gareth Anstee, Engineering Projects Lecturer at the University of Chichester added: “For me the day went really well, with all the robots functional and able to do something which is always great. The students found issues with all their robots and would be able to do it again better next year – with some even able to make significant upgrades between rounds of the competition. Ultimately it’s a very visual way of seeing the students’ development, and it gets better every year.”

Watch the highlights of this year’s clashes online here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-fTpsO14d8