2026, Oct. 10./11. | Dresden University of Technology
#makebotsmove
Two days. One playground for mobile robotics.
On October 10–11, 2026, ComNets Teams turns TU Dresden into one Germany’s biggest mobile robotics arenas. Drones, AGVs, humanoids, service bots — you get the hardware, the mentors, and the freedom to break things.
Come hack. Build. Move. Disrupt. Win.
01 · TRACKS
Challenges
Six tracks. One goal — make bots move.
Pick a track that fits your team, or bring your own idea. Every challenge runs on real hardware, with mentors and equipment on site. Winners are decided Sunday afternoon by an independent jury.
01
Autonomous Navigation
RouteMaster · PathQuest
Build a robust navigation stack that guides a drone, AGV, or rover through waypoints using onboard perception. Localize, plan, and execute collision-free trajectories under changing lighting, feature-poor environments, and dynamic scenes.
02
Multi-Robot Collaboration
BetterTogether
Design a coordination framework so multiple robots — drones, AGVs, mixed fleets — collaborate in real time. Exchange mission-critical info, avoid collisions, adapt to changing objectives, and accomplish tasks no single robot could.
03
Computer Vision & AI
SmartSight · Insight AI
Build an innovative perception application. Object detection, semantic understanding, visual localization, vision-language reasoning, or foundation models — pick your problem. Intelligent perception that solves real-world challenges.
04
Physical AI & Imitation Learning
Bring your own
Teach a robot a new skill by showing rather than programming. Imitation learning, teleoperation demonstrations, or foundation-model-driven behaviours on our humanoid and AGV platforms. Open-ended — surprise us.
05
Intuitive Human-Robot Interaction
Robot Whisperer · Beyond the Joystick
Design an intuitive interface for seamless human-robot communication. XR, gesture recognition, body/hand tracking, wearables, haptic feedback, IoT sensors — pick your modality. Judged on usability, responsiveness, and intuitiveness.
06
Hack the Service Bot
Coming soon
We have four Plato service robots and no closed source. Reverse-engineer, hijack, and repurpose. Get them moving under your control. Ideal for anyone into digital sovereignty and open robotics platforms.
02 · PLATFORMS
Tech & Equipment
Real hardware. Real stacks. Ready to hack.
Every platform here will be on site October 10–11, powered up, and ready. Full ROS 2 support across the stack. A native 5G network wrapped around the venue courtesy of Campus Genius. Mentors on hand to help you get running fast.
Drones
- Crazyflie 2.1 brushless ×20 — Lighthouse / Optical Flow / Multi Ranger — ROS 2 humble-jazzy
- ModalAI Starling 2 ×1 — ROS 2 foxy/humble
- PX4 mid-size drones ×2 — assembled with SMAROBIX
AGVs & Rovers
- DJI Robomaster EP ×2 — ROS 2 foxy-lyrical
- Clearpath Jackal ×1 — ROS 2 jazzy (SMAROBIX)
- Olive ANT ×1 — ROS 2 humble
- ROBOTIS Turtlebot ×3
- ROSbot XL (Husarion)
- KATE Götting ×1 — ROS kinetic-melodic
Legged & Service
- Boston Dynamics Spot ×4 — ROS 2 humble (spot_ros2 wrapper)
- Plato service robots ×4 — open for hacking
Compute, XR, Fabrication
- HoloLens 2 ×2 · Meta Quest · NUC PCs
- Bambu Lab X1E / H2C / H2D — 3D printing on-site
- Soldering stations · 2 large toolboxes
- Arduino / ESP32 / D1 Mini kits
- Native 5G playground around the venue
03 · AROUND THE MAIN EVENT
Satellite Events
The hackathon is the main event. But it’s not the only one.
A weekend in Dresden is more than 48 hours of hacking. Bring family, bring your team, bring the wider community — here’s what else is happening around and next to the main tracks.
SAT · FAMILY DAY
Parent–Child Robot Build
For parents and their 14–16 year olds: build, print, and program your first real robot together. Take-home hardware. No prior experience — just curiosity.
Host: SKR · Lead: Marcus Kotte
BOTH DAYS · INTERNAL AREA
SKR Demo Build
The SKR consortium builds its next-generation live demo on the show floor. Come watch, ask questions, and see what happens when a research consortium hacks in public.
SUN · ADD-ON
Business Pitch
Optional side-quest for teams who want to think beyond the code. Pitch your prototype as a business — market, use case, scalability — in front of the LaunchHub42 team.
SAT · 21:00
After Party — DJ Randy
DJ Randy on the decks. BBQ from the afternoon. Beer, snacks, and enough energy to hack through the night — or dance and start fresh Sunday morning.
04 · THE ECOSYSTEM
Partner & Supporters
Built with the strongest ecosystem in Eastern Germany’s robotics scene.
This event is powered by the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks at TU Dresden, together with the leading robotics research clusters, industry partners, startups, and networks across Saxony and beyond.
05 · FRESH FROM THE BUILD-UP
News & Updates
The latest from the build-up.
Follow along as we lock in partners, unlock new challenges, add hardware to the inventory, and open registration in waves. Follow us on LinkedIn for real-time updates or subscribe to get key announcements in your inbox.
AUGUST 2026
Location confirmed — TU Dresden Informatikfakultät + BAR
The main venue is locked in: the Informatikfakultät of TU Dresden, with our BAR event space next door for demos and the after-party. Full 5G coverage inside the venue via Campus Genius.
JULY 2026
Hackathon announced — save the date
The Mobile Robotics Hackathon 2026 is happening October 10–11. Two days, 200 hackers, every kind of robot that moves. Registration opens end of August. Sign up for our updates to be first in line.
Ready to move?
Registration opens end of August 2026. Limited to 200 hackers. Free entry, meals and after-party included — you bring the ideas, we bring the hardware.
06 · The Hackathon Journey
Agenda
Sat Oct 10
Start
Program
Location