TurtleRabbit, is an engineering and computer science student team that built soccer-playing robots to compete in RoboCup 2024. Our objective was to qualify and compete as Australia’s first team in 20 years in the Small-Size League, advancing robotics innovation and collaborative problem-solving in an international competition.

We combined accessible components such as drone motors and Raspberry Pi controllers with custom 3D-printed and CNC-machined parts to build our robots. Our software enabled autonomous gameplay through pathfinding and ball trajectory prediction. Despite having only a year, we organized school engagement events, secured sponsorship from Westpac, recruited students across disciplines, and fostered a strong team culture. The team balanced technical development and non-technical efforts, such as recruitment, teamwork, and navigating university departments for funding. This collaborative approach was essential to achieving qualification and competition readiness.

We successfully qualified and competed at RoboCup 2024 in the Netherlands with six robots, marking Australia’s first appearance in two decades. Our efforts gained strong interest from other universities; Uni Freiburg plans to build robots based on our design, and RMIT, UCSD, and Princeton showed interest in starting teams inspired by our approach.

The project put WSU on the map in a global competition, showcasing hands-on learning and community engagement in robotics. It exceeded initial goals, boosting technical skills, practical experience, and international recognition. The experience underscored the value of teamwork, resilience, and innovation, inspiring further development and solidifying our university’s standing in STEM excellence.