Bengaluru, May 29: Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru, a constituent unit of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), an Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University, has achieved a significant milestone, with its students’ team set to participate in RoboSub 2026, an international autonomous underwater robotics competition to be held from July 11 to July 16, 2026, in Irvine, California, USA.
MIT Bengaluru is one of only two teams from India, alongside IIT Bombay, participating in this year’s RoboSub 2026, where nearly 60 teams worldwide will compete. Organized by RoboNation in collaboration with the United States Office of Naval Research, the competition brings together leading universities to develop advanced Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for complex underwater tasks.
Initiated in 2024, the student-led project represents interdisciplinary collaboration among students from computer science, electronics, and information technology. The team has developed a fully functional AUV integrating autonomy software, computer vision, embedded systems, and mechanical design to perform navigation, object detection, manipulation, and intelligent decision-making for applications in ocean exploration, defence, and offshore industries.
The team is organized into four major subsystems: the Mechanical team handles CAD design, simulations, and hardware assembly; the Electrical team manages power systems, wiring, thruster control, and in-house development of hydrophones and PCBs; the Software and Automation team develops navigation, localisation, sensor fusion, computer vision, and autonomous capabilities; while the Management and Design team oversees branding, sponsorships, finances, media, website development, and overall project management.
The project serves as a long-term platform for students to learn and build complete underwater robotic systems from scratch. Beyond the AUV, the team has developed custom technologies including SONAR systems, hydrophones, and integrated electrical and software architectures. Participation in RoboSub 2026 will expose students to international engineering standards, industry collaboration, and global innovation ecosystems, while strengthening research and technical capabilities at MIT Bengaluru.
RoboSub features multiple stages pre qualification, semi finals, and finals and award categories such as technical design reports, website development, video presentations, and rookie team recognition. The project is supported by industry partners including Dassault Systèmes, ANSYS, and hardware collaborators, reflecting strong industry–academia collaboration.
Emphasising the institution’s focus on innovation-led learning, Dr. Madhu Veeraraghavan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, MAHE Bengaluru, said,
“At MAHE Bengaluru, we are focused on nurturing talent that can solve complex, real-world challenges through innovation and interdisciplinary learning. Our students competing at RoboSub 2026 reflects both their technical depth and the ecosystem we are building to support high-impact, global-level research and engineering.”
Speaking about the achievement, Dr. Iven Jose, Director, MIT Bengaluru, said,
‘Participation in competitions such as RoboSub gives students an opportunity to work in high-performance environments that demand creativity, resilience, and technical precision. Seeing our students represent India on an international stage reflects the culture of hands-on learning and continuous innovation that we strive to build at MIT Bengaluru.’
Reflecting on the journey, the student team shared,
“Over the past one and a half years, we built this project entirely from scratch, from forming and training our first student team to designing, prototyping, and testing our AUV for RoboSub 2026. This journey provided hands-on experience across mechanical, electrical, and software systems while strengthening our technical, teamwork, leadership, and project management skills. As the first team from our college to pursue RoboSub, it is rewarding to create a foundation for future teams, with strong support from the college through funding, resources, workspace, and encouragement to represent our institution internationally.”