FIRA RoboWorld Cup and Summit 2026 

17th – 21th July 2026, Markham, Ontario, Canada 

The Federation of International RoboSports Association (FIRA) and Canadian National Robotic Society (CNRS)  is pleased to invite both new and returning participants to the FIRA RoboWorld Cup and Summit 2026 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The competition will be held from July 17th to 21th, 2026, at Markham Pan Am Centre and York University Markham Campus.

The FIRA RoboWorld Cup includes competitions in the following leagues: 

• FIRA Sports was the goal of developing robot athletes that can compete against humans in Olympic events 

• FIRA AIR includes the use of autonomous flying vehicles in urban and disaster scenarios.
• FIRA Challenges focuses on complex challenges in industrial, rescue, and service robot settings

FIRA Sports         HuroCup (Jr. Kid, Adult)

FIRA Air               Air Emergency Service (Indoor), Air Autonomous Race (Pro) 

                             Air Autonomous Race (U19/U14) 

                             FIRA Air General Rule (U14/U19/Pro)

FIRA Challenge Autonomous Cars (Pro), Autonomous Cars (U19/U14) 

Innovation and Business (Pro/ U19/U14) 

Mission Impossible (U19, U14)

* Rules may be subject to change up to two months prior to the event.

FIRA has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Making the FIRA RoboWorld Cup results in over 20 participating countries in 2023 and 22 countries over 1,500 participants in 2024 and 2025. Friendly competitions in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup give all participants a chance to make new friends and learn from each other. 

Qualification

Teams that are interested in participating must submit their qualification material before the deadline. The qualification procedure is dependent on the division and league. Please contact the chairs and co-chairs of the event if you have any further questions. 

FIRA Sports, FIRA Challenge, and FIRA Air

Qualification consists of two parts: (1) A maximum 5-minute video showing the performance of your robot, and (2) a research paper for FIRA World Summit (up to 12 pages in Springer LNCS format). 

Videos

Videos must be uploaded to a publicly accessible video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo. Post a link to the FIRA official registration website, available at FIRA ROBOWORLDCUP CANADA 2026  

Team Description Paper (TDP)

All teams from this year should submit a Team Description Paper (TDP).  The TDP is limited to 6 pages maximum and must be submitted in PDF format. This report fully describes the scientific aspects of your robot system and your research interests, includes a summary of previous relevant achievements in research and development as well as publications, and mentions prior performance in FIRA competitions.

U19 & U14 

Teams that are represented by a FIRA Chapter must qualify and register via their FIRA Chapter. Before registering your Youth team, you must ensure the team is qualified. Please contact your FIRA regional representative for all questions concerning qualification. 

Teams that do not yet have a chapter may contact FIRA HQ directly for qualification. In this case, they should submit a two-page write-up in English describing their previous experience in robotics and their motivation for joining the FIRA competition.

In addition, participants who would like to take part in the United Mission must submit a two-page write-up in English describing their previous experience in robotics and their motivation for joining the United Nations Mission. 

From 2024, 1 registration covers 1 event only. If you wish to take part in more than 1 event, you need to register for each event.  

Mission Impossible consists of four events this year, (1) Mission Impossible_foursight (2) Mission Impossible_H (Hardware) (3) Mission Impossible_S (Software) (4) Mission Impossible_U (United), and a prize for the best team over all four events Mission Impossible Allround.  

Age Categories and Eligibility Dates

For the 2026 competition year, the eligibility cut‑off date is 30 June 2026.

• Under 19 (U19): Must be under 19 years old as of 30 June 2026. Eligible competitors are those born on or after 1 July 2007.
• Under 14 (U14): Must be under 14 years old as of 30 June 2026. Eligible competitors are those born on or after 1 July 2012.  

Qualifications at Glace   

League/Event	Category	Required Submission
FIRA Sports-HuroCup	Pro	(1) Team Description Paper -TDP       (6 pages maximum / PDF format)   (2) Video Submission
FIRA Air – Emergency Rescue (Indoor)	Pro
FIRA Air – Autonomous Race	Pro
FIRA Challenge – Autonomous Car	Pro
FIRA Challenge – Innovation & Business	Pro

 

League/Event	Category	Required Submission
FIRA Sports – HuroCup Junior	U19	(1) Mandatory National Qualification Countries: China, Korea, Brazil, Iran, Canada, Philippines, Taiwan    (2) Participants from other countries must submit: Team Description Paper (TDP, max. 6 pages, PDF)
FIRA Air – Autonomous Race	U19/U14
FIRA Challenge – Autonomous Car	U19/U14
FIRA Challenge – Innovation & Business	U19/ U14
FIRA Challenge – Mission Impossible	U19/ U14

Tentative Schedule

Date	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
16th July	Setup (Fira Committee) (15:00~)
17th July	Registration	Competition/ Opening ceremony	Award ceremony
18th July	Competition	Competition	Award ceremony
19th July	Competition	Competition	Award ceremony
20th July	Competition	Competition	Award ceremony
21th July	Competition	Competition / Closing	Award Ceremony (Banquet)

Venue 

The Markham Pan Am Centre / York University Markham Campus Address: 16 Main St Unionville, Markham, ON L3R 0W7

The Markham Pan Am Centre is a multi-purpose community and aquatics centre located in the new downtown area of Markham, Ontario, Canada. The facility was designed to host the badminton, table tennis and water polo events for the 2015 Pan American Games, held in nearby Toronto in July and August, 2015.

Travel 

Markham, Canada is a leading high-tech city in the Greater Toronto Area, known for its innovation, diversity, and world-class facilities — the perfect host for the FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2026. Here’s everything you need to know for an unforgettable visit: 

For more information about Travel & Accommodation please check Travel information 

Click here : 

CANADA TRIP

FIRA RoboWorld Cup Registration fees (USD)

Category	Early bird  by 30th May	Regular  by 10th June	Late  by 15th June	Condition
Pro	800	900	1,000	1 registration fee max 4 members + 1 coach.
Pro Additional Members	250	300	350
U14/ U19	450	550	700	2 members + 1 coach
U14/ U19 Additional member	180	220	270	Up to 2 members  (Maximum 4 Member)
parents/chaperones	200	200	270
FIRA Frontiers Camp 14th – 16th July	1,200	1,400	1,600	TBA

 

The fees for registration of FIRA Summit participants are shown below.

Category	Fee  (USD$)	IEEE Members (USD$)	Condition
FULL REGISTRATION	350	250	Complementary registration included for FIRA participants
STUDENT REGISTRATION	250	200	Complementary registration included for FIRA participants

 Team Composition

Team composition is defined by category-specific regulations.

• Each team must designate one coach.
• The number of student team members permitted varies by category, as specified in the registration guidelines.

• Additional team members may be registered in accordance with the category rules.

 Access to Competition Areas & Social Events

Access to competition-related areas is restricted as follows:

• Team work areas are accessible only to officially registered team members.

– U 19 & U 14 Coaches, Parents and guardians are not permitted to enter team work areas at any time.

– Participation in social events and access to restricted areas require official registration as a team member, coach, parent, or guardian.

 FIRA Summit Attendance

• All registered team members are automatically admitted to the FIRA Summit.

• Separate registration for Summit attendance is not required for team members.

 FIRA Summit Invitation Letters (Visa Purpose)

• Official invitation letters for the FIRA Summit are issued only to authors of accepted Summit papers.
• Summit attendance without an accepted paper does not qualify for a Summit invitation letter.

• Participants who wish to be considered for a Summit invitation letter must select “FIRA Summit Event” during registration.

 

Payment methods

Our registration website offers the following payment options:

• PayPal payment:  This is the preferred method via website. 
• Wire Transfer (USD). Available only until Jun 15, 2026. Wire transfers should be used in exceptional cases only if credit card payment is not possible.

 Bank information 

1) Bank Swift Code: HVBKKRSEXXX

2) Bank Name : WOORIBANK
3) Bank Address:17, WORLD CUP BUK-RO 60-GIL, MAPO-GU, 

  SEOUL, 03921,  SOUTH KOREA

4) Account No: 1081-201-071900

5) Account Holder: FIRA
6) Address /Tel : #402, 122 gil 24, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea

      / +82-10-5208-4354

 

Registration will only be considered complete once the full payment (in US Dollars) has been received in our bank account by the specified deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure timely payment.

Dr. Cheng Memorial Scholarship

The FIRA headquarters will award two scholarships ($500 travel support for FIRA 2026) for the one male and one female student participating in FIRA 2025. 

The scholarships are in memory of Dr. Chi Tai Cheng, a very active and influential member of the FIRA community who sadly passed away from cancer in 2015. The applications for the scholarship must be submitted by the team leaders. Each team leader is allowed to nominate one male and one female student from their team for this award. The students must prepare a 2 – 3-page application showing their technical skills, awareness of social issues, leadership potential, and extracurricular activities. The report must also clearly indicate their name, team name, and previous involvement in robotics and the FIRA competitions. The deadline for submission is the end of the second day of every year’s FIRA RoboWorld Cup competition. The application should be submitted via email to <[email protected]>.

FIRA 2026 World Summit

The FIRA World Summit 2026 will be held with the FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2026 from the 17th to the 21st of July 2026 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The purpose of organizing the FIRA RoboWorldCup and Summit is to share many ideas and research results in AI and robotics areas. The FIRA Summit is soliciting novel research results on advanced robotics, intelligent systems, and building successful simulations for robots and systems. The original research papers reported on the leading edge of science and technology will be peer-reviewed and presented in this Summit, in order to consolidate the state of the art advancement in key areas of robotics and AI. The organizing committee of the FIRA 2026 World Summit is preparing to hold this year’s conference, as a hybrid event. Please be advised that the organization committee of FIRA World Summit 2026 applied for IEEE Explore to index the presented papers.

Best Student Paper Award 

FIRA Summit will award one best student paper award to the paper with a student as first author and that was presented by a student during the summit. The award will be judged by a jury whose members were selected from the FIRA community.

Submission

Follow the link below and read plagiarism awareness by IEEE: Plagiarism Awareness

1. Prepare your paper according to the paper format provided in (Please use A4 paper size): IEEE Manuscript Templates for Conference Proceedings
2. To prepare and submit the final version of a paper for inclusion in the conference proceedings, authors must perform ALL the subsequent activities: IEEE AUTHOR’S KIT | IEEE Author Center
3. We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members, and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: IEEE Code of Ethics

Papers must be electronically submitted through the AVIS Event electronic submission system (https://events.avisengine.com/).

FIRA Frontier Camp (Tentative) 

Date: 14-16 JULY, 2026

Venue: VIC Education  

Program: AI Project, Humanoid Robotics, Aerial Robotics 

For: Age 10 – 18 and teachers  

Please contact HQ Office if you are interested in FFC 

 

Concurrent Event

TBD

Visas and cancellation policy

 

Participants from some countries require a visa to enter Canada. Visa processing times vary by country, and some applicants may require 

 

significantly more time. We strongly recommend that teams begin their visa application process as early as possible.

Please note the following important points:

 

• Registration & Payment Required:

Teams must complete full team registration and payment before an official invitation letter can be issued.

• Invitation Letter:

After payment is confirmed, FIRA Canada will provide:

• Official invitation letter
• Event details and supporting documents required for visa application
• Visa Responsibility:

Visa approval is the sole responsibility of the applicant.

Any visa refusal does not qualify for a refund of the registration fee.

• Document Accuracy:

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all documents submitted to IRCC are accurate and complete, including those issued by FIRA Canada.

 

• Support Available:

We are happy to support teams during the visa preparation process.

For assistance, please contact us:

 

• WhatsApp: +1-778-636-2464 

 

• Email: [email protected]

For official visa information and application procedures, please visit the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website:

 

???? https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship.html

 

Cancellation & Refund Policy

• All registrations for the FIRA World Cup are strictly non-refundable.
• Once payment is completed, no refunds will be issued under any circumstances, including:
• Visa refusal •Travel delays •Personal or institutional issues

 

Refunds may only be considered if FIRA Headquarters officially declares a force majeure situation, such as:

• Government-mandated travel restrictions
• Major national emergencies
• Extraordinary events formally recognized by FIRA HQ

All registrations for the FIRA 2026 competition are strictly non-refundable.

Once payment is completed, no refund will be issued under any circumstances, except if FIRA Headquarters officially determines that a force majeure situation applies (such as major national emergencies, government-mandated travel restrictions, or other extraordinary events recognized by HQ).

More information on the FIRA official website 

• www.firaworldcup.org 

Announcement, schedules on the FIRA social media

• https://www.instagram.com/fira_canada/
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/firarobot/ 
• https://www.instagram.com/firaworldcup/?hl=en 
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/fira-roboworldcup/ 

Contact    

FIRA HQ Executive Secretary:  Qualification & general competition policies

 Christine Kim [email protected]/ +82-10-5208-4354 

FIRA CANADA President : Visa & Canada-related matters

Samia Karimi [email protected] / +1 778 636 2464 

FIRA Technical Team: Registration & payment difficulties 

[email protected] 

FIRA Discord Channel :  Rules & technical inquires

FIRA Discord → go to league