UBC Thunderbots

What UBC Thunderbots does

UBC Thunderbots is a student-run autonomous robot soccer team at the University of British Columbia, founded in 2006 and based at the Wayne and William White Engineering Design Centre in Vancouver, BC. The team designs, builds, and programs a fleet of fully autonomous soccer-playing robots that compete in the RoboCup Small Size League (SSL) 6v6 division, and is the only Canadian participant in that league. The team has attended 13 RoboCup competitions since 2009 and is a two-time world champion (2019 and 2021).

The team operates as a multidisciplinary engineering organization with four subteams covering Administrative, Electrical, Mechanical, and Software disciplines. Roughly 47 to 60+ students participate annually, recruited each September from first-year undergraduates through graduate students across engineering and non-engineering backgrounds. Technical work spans embedded systems, mechanical design and machining, firmware, computer vision, multi-agent strategy, and real-time control, with the goal of producing a competitive robot fleet capable of fully autonomous 6v6 gameplay against international opponents.

UBC Thunderbots is structured as a non-profit student organization and does not sell products or services. Operating capital is raised through corporate sponsorships, component donations, university departmental grants, and individual donors. Sponsors include Analog Devices, Trinamic, Zaber, Proto Labs, 4imprint, Maxon, the Walter H. Gage Memorial Fund, and three UBC academic units (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Applied Science). The team engages in community and sponsor outreach via Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and a UBC-hosted recruitment page.

Name

UBC Thunderbots

Legal name

UBC Thunderbots

Website

https://ubcthunderbots.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UBC Thunderbots is a student-run autonomous robot soccer team at the University of British Columbia that designs, builds, and competes with a fleet of fully autonomous robots in the RoboCup Small Size League 6v6 division. The 60+ member multidisciplinary team is two-time world champion and Canada's only SSL 6v6 entrant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Competitive Robotics Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

akta.pro primary industry

Competition Robotics Teams & Coaching (FLL/FTC/FRC, VEX) (EDAMADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK)

Keywords

• Autonomous robotics
• Robot soccer
• RoboCup competition
• Student engineering team
• Multidisciplinary robotics

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver, British Columbia

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships: Financial funding and component donations from corporate sponsors, grants, and individual donors to support robot manufacturing, design, machining, and testing for RoboCup competitions

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UBC Thunderbots designs, builds, and operates a fleet of fully autonomous soccer-playing robots to compete in the international RoboCup Small Size League (SSL) 6v6 division. The team is composed of 60+ UBC students across engineering and arts disciplines, organized into Administrative, Electrical, Mechanical, and Software subteams that collaborate on all aspects of robot development. Activities span competitive robotics participation, hands-on engineering education, and community outreach.

Product overview

UBC Thunderbots is a student-run autonomous robot soccer team representing the University of British Columbia. The team competes in the RoboCup Small Size League 6v6 division, where they design and operate fully autonomous soccer-playing robots. The offering consists of their fleet of autonomous robots and the associated robotics technology developed for competitive RoboCup participation. The team is organized into subteams covering Administrative, Electrical, Mechanical, and Software engineering disciplines. UBC Thunderbots is Canada's only participant in the RoboCup SSL 6v6 League.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UBC Thunderbots Autonomous Soccer Robots A fleet of fully autonomous soccer-playing robots designed, fabricated, and programmed entirely by UBC students for competition in the RoboCup Small Size League 6v6 format. The robots compete internationally at RoboCup events; the team has attended 13 RoboCups and achieved 2 first-place finishes (2019 and 2021).
• UBC Thunderbots Student Robotics Team Program An extracurricular, non-credit student team program at UBC that recruits 60+ students annually across engineering and arts disciplines. Members participate in multidisciplinary projects covering robot design, fabrication, and programming, meeting weekly on weekday evenings and Saturdays. The program emphasizes mentorship, student-directed learning, and participation in the international RoboCup competition.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RoboCupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Annual international robotics competition founded in 1996. The idea of robots playing soccer was first introduced at UBC by Professor Alan Mackworth.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ZJUNlict: ZJUNlict is Zhejiang University's RoboCup Small Size League team, focused on autonomous multi-robot soccer. It is directly comparable in building integrated mechanical, electrical, and software systems for international competition.
• Bembelbots: Bembelbots is a student robotics team that develops autonomous soccer robots and participates in international RoboCup events. It shares Thunderbots' small-size robot-soccer category and multidisciplinary student engineering model.
• Parsian: Parsian is a university-linked RoboCup Small Size League team focused on autonomous multi-robot soccer. Its competitive robot platform and international event participation directly overlap with UBC Thunderbots' core work.
• CMDragons: CMDragons is a Carnegie Mellon university robotics team associated with autonomous small-size robot soccer. Its research-oriented approach to multi-robot control and international competition is materially comparable to Thunderbots.
• TIGERs Mannheim: TIGERs Mannheim is a university-linked student robotics team that designs autonomous multi-robot soccer systems for the RoboCup Small Size League. It is one of the closest operating and competitive analogues to UBC Thunderbots.
• RoboTeam Twente: RoboTeam Twente is a Dutch university student team that develops autonomous robot-soccer technology. Its combination of student-led engineering, multidisciplinary development, and international competition is closely aligned with UBC Thunderbots.
• ER-Force: ER-Force is a German student research team that develops and competes with autonomous small-size soccer robots. Its multidisciplinary robot-development and international RoboCup participation closely mirror Thunderbots' activities.
• Immortals: Immortals is the University of Waterloo's student team competing in autonomous robot soccer, including the RoboCup Small Size League. It is directly comparable through university-based talent development, robot design, and RoboCup competition.

Emerging players

• rUNSWift: rUNSWift is the University of New South Wales' autonomous robot-soccer team. It is comparable through student-driven robotics and RoboCup participation, although its primary platform-league focus differs from Thunderbots' custom 6v6 robots.
• ITAndroids: ITAndroids is a Brazilian university student team that builds small autonomous soccer robots across RoboCup and related VSS formats. It is comparable through student-led autonomous robot soccer, although its league and competition formats partially differ.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtiktok.com/@ubcthunderbots
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UBCThunderbots
• Facebookfacebook.com/ubcthunderbots
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ubc-thunderbots
• Instagraminstagram.com/ubcthunderbots

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UBC Thunderbots