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About NRC

Since 1999, Science Centre Singapore has been organising The National Robotics Competition (NRC) with support from the Ministry of Education, various partners and sponsors. To date, the competition has attracted more than 68,000 participants and 250,000 supporters.

NRC spurs interest and innovation offering students an opportunity to apply what they learnt in school and experience STEM hands-on through interactive and meaningful experiences. In the process, students develop skills such as problem solving, entrepreneurial dare, creative thinking and team spirit.

This year's NRC will be held from 23 August 2025 to 13 September 2025, at Science Centre Singapore.

For further enquires, kindly email to NRC@science.edu.sg.

What is NRC? Watch our video highlights.

NRC 2025

Registration for NRC2025 is now opened till 11 July 2025, 5pm. The registration fee for a team is $30, inclusive of 9% GST.

In addition, there will be early bird discount of $10 off for teams that register on or before 30 May 2025, 5pm. Click HERE to register now!

Challenge ScheduleNRC2025-Schedule2 
Key Dates
Registrations24 March - 11 July
Release of Challenge BookletMid April
Challenge Announcement Webinar15 and 16 April
Online Challenge Consultations10 and 24 July
Trial PlayfieldsMid July till Early August
Competition Period23 August - 13 September
Award Ceremony13 September
  • NRC Regular Category

    Age (Hardware):

    Lower Primary: 7-9 years old (SPIKE ESSENTIAL/WeDo 2.0) 
    Upper Primary: 10-12 years old (SPIKE PRIME/EV3/ROBOT INVENTOR)
    Secondary: 13-17 years old (inclusive of Secondary 5) (SPIKE PRIME/EV3/ROBOT INVENTOR)
    Tertiary: 17-20 years old (LEGO Education/ MATRIX Robotics/ Makeblock/ TETRIX Robotics) 

    Team size: 2-3 people guided by a coach/mentor

    Hardware: LEGO® based

    Software: Free choice

    Maximum size: Max. 25 x 25 x 25 cm

    Characteristics: Build and program a robot that solves challenges on a field.

    NRC Regular Category is a challenge-based competition. Students must design, construct and program an autonomous robot that can solve specific challenges on a field. Because the field is set up randomly each round, the robot needs to be able to make its own decisions during the run.

    All parts of the robot, including controller, motors and sensors must be from LEGO® (MINDSTORMS® NXT or EV3, SPIKE PRIME or ROBOT INVENTOR).

    General Rules

    Lower Primary Resources

    Upper Primary & Secondary Resources

    Tertiary Resources

  • NRC Open Category

    Age:

    Primary: 7-12 years old  
    Secondary: 12-17 years old
    Tertiary: 16-19 years old  

    Team size: 2-3 people guided by a coach/ mentor

    Hardware: Free choice

    Software: Free choice

    Maximum size: Must fit in 2m (wide) x 2m (length) booth

    Characteristics: Develop a robot project that helps solve real world problems.

    NRC Open Category is a project-based competition. Students create their own innovative intelligent robotics solution relating to the current theme of the season. There is no restriction on the use of materials. This includes free choice of controllers, motors, sensors, etc.

    Teams will present their project and their robot model to a group of judges on the competition day. The judges will not only grade the robot solution but will also look at aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship.

    Open Category Resources

  • NRC AI Maker Series

    Age:

    Primary: 7-12 years old
    Secondary: 12-17 years old

    Team size: 2-3 students guided by a coach/ mentor

    Hardware: Free choice

    Software: Free choice (for Primary school category, only robots that minimally run on block-based coding platforms)

    Maximum size: 25 x 25 cm (No height limit)

    Characteristics: Teams are to design an Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML) model for your robot to finish the challenge. The robot is required to complete as many rounds as possible around the track while detecting the mission cards within 2 minutes.

    There are no restrictions on the type of robot materials, but it must be self-powered.

    AI Maker Series Challenge Resources

  • NRC Pre-school
    KUBO Challenge

    Age

    Pre-school: 5-6 years old

    Team size: 2-5 students guided by max 2 coaches/mentors

    Hardware: KUBO

    Software: KUBO

    Characteristics: A mission-based competition where children code and fabricate add-ons for a robot to solve missions on a playfield.  

    NRC (Preschool) Kubo Resources

    ARTec Challenge

    Age

    Pre-school: 5-6 years old

    Team size: 2-5 students guided by max 2 coaches/mentors

    Hardware: ARTec Coding+ Set

    Software: ARTec Icon Programming

    Characteristics: In this edition of the ARTec Robotics (Preschool) in NRC, children will build and code the robots to perform different missions and solve problems. They are also required to think critically and work as a team as they complete the missions. 

    For any enquiries regarding this category, please email enquiries@wow.com.sg 

    NRC (Preschool) Artec Resources

  • NRC CoSpace Robot Challenge

    Challenge Booklets will be released in mid-May.

    Please direct queries to cospace@robocupap.org

  • NRC Smorphi
    NRC Smorphi Autonomous Challenge

    Age:
    Upper Primary: 10 – 12 years old
    Secondary: 13 – 17 years old 
    Senior: 16 years and above 

    Team size: 4 to 5 members guided by a coach/mentor

    Software: Free Choice
    Hardware: Smorphi line of robots 
    Maximum Size: Max 40cm X 40cm X 40cm in square form 
    Characteristics:

    Build and program a robot that can achieve maximum area coverage in a given layout setting.

    NRC Smorphi Autonomous Challenge Category is a team-based Competition. Students must design, construct and program the Smorphi robots to autonomously achieve a maximum area coverage in a given layout. Only Smorphi line of robots can be used for the competition.

    NRC Smorphi Pilot Challenge

    Age:
    Upper Primary: 10 – 12 years old
    Secondary: 13 – 17 years old 
    Senior: 16 years and above

    Team size: 4 to 5 members guided by a coach/mentor

    Software: Free Choice
    Hardware: Smorphi line of robots 
    Maximum Size: Max 40cm X 40cm X 40cm in square form 
    Characteristics:

    Build and program a robot that can achieve maximum area coverage in a given layout setting.

    Under the NRC Smorphi Pilot Challenge Category, teams must build and program their Smorphi robot to be controlled wirelessly. One student from the team must pilot the robot towards achieving a maximum area coverage in a given layout setting. Only Smorphi line of robots can be used for the competition. 

    NRC Smorphi Challenge Resources

  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

    NRC 2025 General FAQ

    Please direct any other queries to NRC@science.edu.sg or contact us at +65 64252582.

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