The student robotics team Roboheads of the Next Generation Digital Systems Applications Laboratory (NG-DSA Lab) of the Department of Digital Systems (DDS) of the University of Thessaly won the bronze medal (third place) at the RoboRAVE International World Championship, held in Beijing, China, on August 24–26, 2025.
The RoboRAVE International World Championship is one of the largest robotics competitions worldwide, aiming to inspire students, educators, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) enthusiasts. Participating teams are challenged to design and program robots for a series of tasks, competing with one another while sharing experiences and developing STEM skills, creativity, and teamwork in a competitive environment that promotes innovation and the exchange of knowledge.
The Roboheads team qualified for the international championship after winning first place at the RoboRAVE Greece national competition, held in Larissa on April 12, 2025. At the international RoboRAVE competition, hosted at the National Skating Center in Beijing from August 24 to 26, the Roboheads competed in the Fire Fighting category, presenting a fully autonomous robot capable of navigating a dynamic course, detecting flames (from lit candles) using a camera and AI models, and extinguishing them with a small-diameter fan.
Among the official guests at the competition was the Ambassador of Greece to China, Dr. Eugenios Kalpyris, who congratulated the Roboheads team members, as well as the entire Greek delegation, for their participation, efforts, and achievements.
The Roboheads team consists of Dimitrios Papamargaritis, Dimitrios Dimitriadis, Konstantinos Tzokas, and Charalampos Avgerinos, all students of the Department of Digital Systems, who represented the NG-DSA Lab, the Department of Digital Systems, the University of Thessaly, and Greece with distinction at the international competition.
The members of the Roboheads team and the Department of Digital Systems express their warmest thanks to the Rector of the University of Thessaly, Professor Charalampos Billinis, the Vice Rector for Innovation, Internationalization, Collaborations, and Digital Governance, Professor Chrysi Laspidou, One Planet Thessaly, as well as the University Council, for their valuable support that fully covered the team’s travel and accommodation expenses. The team also extends its gratitude to the Chair of the Department of Digital Systems, Professor Vasileios Gerogiannis, for his continuous support of all student teams in the Department; to the Director of the NG-DSA Lab, Associate Professor Konstantinos Chaikalis; and to the NG-DSA Lab members, Assistant Professor Apostolos Xenakis and Dr. Dimitrios Kosmanos , instructor of the Robotics Systems course in the Department’s curriculum, for their constant support and scientific guidance. Finally, the Roboheads team extends special thanks to RoboRAVE Greece and its Director, Mr. Ioannis Baras, for their cooperation, systematic organization, and successful support of the Roboheads and all Greek teams participating in the international competition.
On their part, the University of Thessaly, One Planet Thessaly, the Department of Digital Systems, and the NG-DSA Lab warmly congratulate the students on this outstanding achievement and thank all those who contributed to the team’s success.
