Incheon National University TEAM INU Takes 1st Place Worldwide in RoboCup 2026 SML Division

Ahead of 2nd place Singapore by 73 points... "Proving Incheon National University's capability to foster practical talent in manufacturing AX"

A student team from Incheon National University (President Lee In-jae) reached the top of the world in their first appearance at the world's most prestigious AI and robot competition. Incheon National University's 'TEAM INU' took first place globally in the Smart Manufacturing League (SML) division at 'RoboCup 2026 Incheon,' held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon since the 2nd. With a final score of 210 points, they significantly outperformed the second-place Singapore team (137 points) by a margin of 73 points. The SML division is a highly difficult industrial automation category in which mobile robots perform complex missions such as object recognition, autonomous driving, precise manipulation, and assembly and loading in an environment similar to actual industrial sites. Eight teams from eight countries, including Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, and Singapore, participated and competed in this event.

The secret to winning is the 'slide multi-loading system' TEAM INU is a convergence team of 16 students (Ahn Woo-yong, Kim Seung-jin, Noh Yun-ji, Kim Jae-hong, Park Yeo-chun, Park Dong-sik, Seong Chae-rin, Kim Hyung-jin, Yoon Je-ho, Lee Ki-hyun, Lee Da-han, Jung Gyu-min, Jung Dong-hyuk, Han Deok-hee, Jung Woo-jin, and Han Da-in) from the Department of Bio-Robotics and System Engineering, the Department of Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Embedded Systems Engineering, who came together beyond the boundaries of their majors. With administrative and financial support from the Incheon Metropolitan City Semiconductor and Bio Division and the Incheon National University RISE (Anchor) Project Group, Professor Park Ki-won of the Department of Bio-Robotics and System Engineering took charge of overall guidance, while Professor Kim Woo-yong and Professors Lee Myung-hoon and Lee Dong-gil of the Department of Electrical Engineering co-advised the team. What determined the victory was the uniquely designed 'slide multi-loading system' by TEAM INU. Unlike the conventional method of picking up and moving objects one by one, it is a method of sequentially loading multiple blocks onto a slide structure and then stably transporting and assembling them all at once. By accurately and stably implementing this system in an actual competition environment, the team significantly increased work efficiency and completeness within a limited time. It is evaluated as an achievement that reflects the manufacturing AX problem-solving capabilities to meet the demands for productivity and automation in manufacturing sites. Professor Park Ki-won of Incheon National University said, "This competition was a comprehensive project in which students solved problems in actual industrial sites with robot technology. The fact that students who cooperated beyond the boundaries of their majors reached the top of the world is an important achievement of Incheon National University's convergence education."

Incheon National University's excellent robot and AI technology moving to manufacturing sites, airports, and ports This victory is a representative achievement that proves Incheon National University's capability on the global stage to foster practical talent who can design, implement, and verify industrial site-oriented robot systems. Through this, Incheon National University plans to use it as an opportunity to advance its practical talent training system. The university plans to develop the autonomous driving, vision, control, and system integration technologies verified at RoboCup into core physical AI capabilities and apply them to AI factories at manufacturing sites and AI robot automation in airports, ports, and logistics fields. In addition, the plan is to systematically cultivate the robot and AI talent required by industrial sites by establishing a practical education system that integrates curriculum based on corporate demand, industry-academia-linked projects, joint research with local robot companies, field training, internships, and employment connections. This plan also aligns with the expansion of Incheon's robot industry infrastructure. Incheon Robot Land, the largest robot industry cluster in Korea, is being established in the Cheongna International City of Incheon, and the attraction of robot companies, testing, certification, and research institutes is being promoted in earnest. The robot and AI talent cultivated by Incheon National University is expected to become the core foundation supporting the growing local robot industry ecosystem in combination with logistics infrastructure such as Incheon Airport and Incheon Port. Incheon National University President Lee In-jae stated, "This achievement is a symbolic case showing the potential of practical-focused education and the cultivation of talent for regional strategic industries that Incheon National University has been promoting through the I-RISE (Anchor) project. We will further advance the system for cultivating AI robot talent who can be immediately deployed to industrial sites."