Boston University Team Wins the MassRobotics Form & Function Robotics Challenge at The Robotics Summit 2026

BOSTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / June 2, 2026 / MassRobotics announced the winners of its 4th Form & Function University Robotics Challenge. Fifteen teams from colleges and universities from around the globe showcased their robotics and automation projects, competing for cash prizes. Competing teams for this event included MIT, Purdue University Indiana, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Laval University Quebec, University of Pennsylvania, Manipal Academy Dubai, University of Waterloo, Ontario, UMass Boston, University of British Columbia, Boston University, Northeastern University and Tufts University. The goal of this challenge is for higher ed teams to create a robot that both looks good (Form) and works (Function).

The Form & Function Challenge requires university teams to create a robotics or automation project that delivers a compelling form factor specific to its tasks while accomplishing a useful function. The challenge is open to higher ed teams from around the globe, and encourages cross-collaboration between state-of-the-art software and hardware providers, including MassRobotics strategic sponsors. This year, components, services and software were donated to teams by MassRobotics sponsors AMD, Dassault Systèmes, Harmonic Drive, Maeden, Maxon, Mitsubishi Electric and Reynolds & Moore

The winners this year were:

First Place and Audience Choice: Boston University with AGROBOT T.O.M., a gantry-mounted, precision-harvesting robot designed for indoor/vertical farming; the system autonomously traverses a growbed, uses LiDAR and a vision/ML pipeline to identify fruit, assesses ripeness/damage via color and size cues, and gently harvests only qualified produce with a soft robotic gripper
Second Place: Northeastern University with their Planar Mechanism for Metrology
Third Place: Worcester Polytechnic Institute with their Centrifuge Loader for Lab Automation
Honorable Mention: Purdue University and Columbia University for partnering and co-developing with good spirit of the competition

The Form and Function Challenge continues to provide exposure to student projects, whether they are a step into what is possible as a commercial application or simply to spark the ideation and creation of a startup. MassRobotics fosters and supports STEM education and robotics innovation through various programs; Form & Function is the nonprofit innovation center’s premier global competition to celebrate higher ed students and connect them with invaluable sponsor support to showcase compelling projects each year at the Robotics Summit. The Form & Function robotics teams each get booth space at the Robotics Summit, and the competition is judged by a panel of robotics industry experts.

The showcase highlighted the breadth of innovation emerging from the MassRobotics resident community and the growing pipeline of companies advancing robotics and Physical AI-driven automation.

The Physical AI Fellowship, powered by AWS, NVIDIA, and MassRobotics, is an eight-week virtual program designed to accelerate high-potential startups at the intersection of robotics and Physical AI. Fellows gain access to experts from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center (GenAIIC), AWS compute and cloud credits, NVIDIA hardware and software support, and connections across MassRobotics’ global robotics network.

The Robotics Summit brought together all nine companies of this global cohort; each was featured prominently on the Summit floor and delivered pitches to an audience of investors, developers, and corporate customers. The event provided a powerful platform for Fellows to demonstrate their cutting-edge technology and forge meaningful connections with potential partners and investors.

Attendees saw healthcare robotics innovations firsthand on the showroom floor, from a patient transfer system to surgical tool handling. Read more about the program and startups here.

The Women in Robotics Breakfast drew a full house, bringing together industry leaders, innovators, and advocates committed to advancing diversity in the robotics sector. Featuring insights from Mikell Taylor, Head of Robotics Strategy at General Motors, and Joyce Sidopoulos, Co-Founder and COO of MassRobotics, the event provided a valuable forum for meaningful discussions around leadership, innovation, and the future of robotics. The breakfast created opportunities for attendees to build new connections, strengthen existing relationships, and champion greater representation of women in robotics leadership.

The MassRobotics Technical Career Fair, sponsored by Würth Professional Solutions, brought together more than 25 hiring companies from Boston to California and attracted nearly 1,000 job seekers, underscoring the strength and continued growth of the robotics talent ecosystem. Building on this momentum, MassRobotics will host its next career fair on September 25, 2026, as part of RoboBoston, its largest public-facing event bringing together industry leaders, innovators, and the broader robotics community.

As a strategic partner with WTWH Media for the 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo, MassRobotics played a key role in shaping the event through industry expertise, strategic guidance, and its extensive global robotics network. The summit brought together robotics leaders, innovators, investors, and end users from around the world for thought-provoking discussions on the future of robotics and automation. Attendees gained valuable insights from industry experts, while the expanded exhibit hall showcased a diverse range of cutting-edge technologies and solutions, reflecting the continued growth and momentum of the robotics ecosystem.

“We continue to see incredible momentum at the Robotics Summit & Expo, with growing participation from across the global robotics ecosystem,” said Steve Crowe, chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo and executive editor of The Robot Report. “MassRobotics has been an outstanding strategic partner, helping bring together startups, industry leaders, investors, and innovators from around the world. Their leadership and deep engagement within the robotics community play a major role in making Boston the center of robotics innovation, and we’re excited to keep building on this success together.”

The MassRobotics startup ecosystem continues to expand at a rapid pace, now approaching 100 current startups in residence and surpassing 250 startups supported since the organization’s founding in 2017, reflecting sustained momentum and its growing role as a global hub for robotics innovation.

Upcoming MassRobotics events include:

Robotics Founders & Funders Capital Forum on June 10: register here.
Calling all early-stage robotics companies: MassRobotics is organizing the Robotics Startup Pitchfest at IROS 2026; review eligibility criteria and prize details, and submit applications here.
The MassRobotics 9th Annual Robot Block Party will take place September 26, 2026, in Boston’s Seaport district. Sign up to request exhibition space to showcase robotics technology or provide a demo here. For sponsorship, inquire here.

About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is the world’s largest independent robotics hub dedicated to accelerating robotics innovation, commercialization and adoption.

Our mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and Physical AI technology companies by providing entrepreneurs and startups with the workspace, resources, programming and connections they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions.

While MassRobotics originated and is headquartered in Boston, we reach and support robotics acceleration and adoption globally and work with startups, academia, industry and governments both domestically and internationally.

Learn more: MassRobotics.org

Media Contact:
MassRobotics
Sayo Tirrell
[email protected]

SOURCE: MassRobotics