Four PhD researchers from Atlantic Technological University (ATU) have won first place in the prestigious international robotics competition, the Robothon Grand Challenge 2025, hosted recently by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) MIRMI in Germany.
The TU RISE research students Dipshikha Das, Ali Al Abbas, Abdullah Haider Ali and Camillo Murgia, all living in Galway City, beat off competition from a field of eight international competitors from Germany, Ireland, India and UAE.
They built a robot solution that can perceive and react intelligently in different scenarios as the team explains.
“We tackled five core tasks ranging from vision-guided tasks to tool use and also designed our Bring Your Own Device challenge (BYOD) to demonstrate transferable skills and adaptability.”
“It was an incredible opportunity to apply our skills, research and creativity, and we are proud of how our team came together to deliver a robust, responsive system.”
“We are thrilled our team Atlabotics has won first place and we thank the organisers and Peter So from Technical University of Munich MIRMI for creating such a thoughtful and inspiring competition, and to everyone who supported us along the way.”
Three of the research students, Ali Al Abbas, Camillo Murgia and Dipshikha Das are registered under the School of Engineering (Dept of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) in ATU Galway, while Abdullah Haider Ali is registered under the School of Engineering (Dept of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering) in ATU Letterkenny.
Dr Philip Long, mentor and lecturer, ATU Galway, says: “I’m really proud of the team for winning first place at the Robothon Grand Challenge 2025.”
“They developed an advanced vision-based robotic manipulation system in a very short space of time, a testament to the state-of-the-art research they’re conducting as part of their PhD programmes.”
“It’s a fantastic achievement on the international stage and a great example of their creativity, technical ability, and teamwork.”
All four are PhD researchers at ATU through the HEA’s TU RISE programme, co-financed by the Government of Ireland and the European Union via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Southern, Eastern & Midland and Northern & Western Regional Programmes 2021–27.
