Young tech enthusiasts showcase skills at 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition Shanghai Regional

The 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Shanghai Regional was held at the East China Normal University in Shanghai from Friday to Sunday, where teams of young tech enthusiasts engaged in a thrilling showdown of intelligence and speed.

Held under the theme of "Rebuilt', this year's event encourages participating teams to explore historical concepts through the lens of engineering. Teams first competed in qualification matches to secure their rankings before advancing to the high-stakes elimination rounds. The ultimate winners of this Shanghai Regional will earn a coveted spot at the global finals, scheduled to be held in the U.S. city of Houston this April.

In each match, robots from two competing alliances must complete a series of tasks with limited time, such as collecting fuel, navigating obstacles, and climbing towers.

Each match begins with a 20-second autonomous period, during which the robots operate on their own and accurately deposit fuel into designated locations.

"The competition works as follows. There's a 20-second automatic period at the beginning, during which the robots operate on their own. After that, we have a 2-minute and 20-second period for drivers to take control. Each scored ball earns a point. There are towers on both sides, and they have different climb levels, each awarding corresponding points," said Xin Yue, a referee of the competition.

As the match transitioned to the driver-controlled phase, the atmosphere reached a fever pitch. Younger drivers deftly maneuvered their robots, executing complex offensive and defensive strategies.

When a round of match ended, team members rushed to the field, quickly retrieving their robots and racing back to their designated pit areas. In these areas of just a few square meters, they worked against the clock, checking components, debugging code, and recalibrating strategies, to get ready for another round.

"This competition was introduced to China in 2014 and has gradually developed since then. From the initial stages of Chinese teams entering, to now, I think the level of Chinese teams is almost on par with some of the world's top contenders," said Chen Bangchao, head of the China organizing committee for the 2026 FRC.

According to the organizers, this year's Shanghai Regional gathered nearly 1,000 young participants representing 50 teams from around the world. Notably, the number of Chinese teams competing this year has increased by more than 20 percent compared with the previous year.

The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, went up 0.52 percent to 100.092 at 15:00 (1900 GMT).

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