IIT Bombay: The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) team of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has given a strong performance at the global RoboSub competition, clinching first place in the Overall Wildcard Challenge and the Overall Website Evaluation at RoboSub 2026 in Irvine, California.
These challenges may include oceanographic exploration and mapping, detection and manipulation of objects, and pipeline identification and tracking. In ‘Design Documentation’, the National University of Singapore secured the first position. Meanwhile, IIT Bombay stood third in the list. Acting in tandem, this dual-vehicle synergy enables the vehicles to execute complex underwater tasks with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Alongside the two overall titles, AUV-IITB finished fifth in the flagship Global Autonomy Challenge, second in the MathWorks Simulation Challenge, and tied for third in Design Documentation, while also securing third place for the Technical Design Report.
In a social media post on X, the institute stated: “IT Bombay DEXA AUV Triumphs at RoboSub 2026, California! We are thrilled to announce that AUV-IIT Bombay delivered an outstanding performance at the global RoboSub 2026 competition in California, competing against 58 elite teams from 9 countries! The 29th edition of the competition was held at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, California, with 58 teams representing nine countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States, according to official information. The competition was held from July 11 to 16, testing autonomous underwater vehicles in missions inspired by disaster response and harbour operations. Celebrating the win, IIT Bombay noted: “The team successfully deployed its flagship vehicle, Matsya 7, operating completely in parallel with the new Mini Matsya!
RoboSub is an international competition that invites participants to tackle simplified versions of challenges facing the underwater maritime industry, according to the official website.
