UBC Thunderbots: Kickstart Our Journey to Reclaim First Place
UBC Thunderbots is a passionate student team dedicated to building autonomous soccer-playing robots that compete at RoboCup, the world’s premier robotics competition. Having already secured two championship titles, we are preparing to defend our crown at RoboCup 2025 in Brazil from July 15-21.
Our 2019 crowdfundraising campaign gave us the final push we needed to win our very first championship, and we hope to bring back this achievement with your help once again.
With your support, we can enhance our robots’ intelligence, speed, and performance, bringing us closer to our goal of once again representing Canada at the highest level. Your investment will also increase accessibility to STEM and robotics across BC—both directly through our design projects and indirectly through our outreach initiatives.
Project Description
UBC Thunderbots is a student design team with one goal: creating autonomous soccer-playing robots that dominate the field. From innovative engineering to cutting-edge technology, our robots compete at RoboCup, the world’s premier robotics soccer competition.
We’ve scored big in the past—winning first place at RoboCup 2019 and 2021—and most recently secured second place at RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Now, we’re gearing up to reclaim the crown at RoboCup 2025 in Salvador, Brazil, and we need your help to make it happen.
With your support to cover essential competition fees, more of our team members will be able to experience the event in person. This is especially valuable for our junior members, who have historically benefited from direct participation. Competing at RoboCup gives our team the opportunity to observe and learn from the world’s top robotics teams and researchers—knowledge that directly informs our design work and strengthens UBC’s presence in global robotics.
Our funding fuels everything from developing state-of-the-art hardware to programming smarter artificial intelligence. While grants, student funds and sponsorships cover part of the costs, it’s the support of donors like you that gives us the winning edge. Let’s team up to put UBC Thunderbots back on top.
Challenges and Impact of Your Support
Your support is the fuel that powers our success because every contribution goes toward making our robots smarter, faster and more competitive on the world stage. Building and competing with our robots requires significant resources, here’s a breakdown of some of the key expenses:
- Our robots also need 10 UI boards at $100 each
- Breakbeam boards, used for ball detection, cost $100 each for 10 units
- To operate the motors, we require 10 motor driver boards (8 for the robots and 2 spares), priced at $300 each
- We need 40 drivetrain motors, including spares, which cost $150 each
- For processing power, we’re investing in 8 Raspberry Pi 5 computers paired with PCIe to M.2 HATs, which cost $200 each
- Competition fees, travel and accommodation for the team to compete in Brazil
These essential costs are just part of what it takes to bring our robots to life and compete on the world stage.
Beyond covering equipment and travel costs, your support also helps us remove financial barriers for students who would otherwise be unable to attend. UBC Thunderbots is one of the few engineering design teams on campus that provide hands-on experience in cutting-edge autonomous technology and we want to ensure all students—regardless of financial background—can take part in this prestigious opportunity.
Your support makes this journey possible, helping us advance robotics, represent Canada and aim for gold again at RoboCup 2025. Please join us in kickstarting our championship run—donate now and help us score the ultimate goal!
Are you an organization or business and want to support us? Corporate sponsorship opportunities are available. Give through our Corporate Giving and Sponsorship page or contact us by emailing robocup@ece.ubc.ca to discuss further.
About UBC Thunderbots
UBC Thunderbots is a team of passionate students who are dedicated to advancing autonomous robotics while competing at the highest level. As one of Canada’s top student design teams, we specialize in creating soccer-playing robots that push the boundaries of engineering and AI.
Our track record speaks for itself: we were the first Canadian team to secure a championship title at RoboCup, winning first place in 2019 and again in 2021. Most recently, we earned second place at RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. We’re proud to showcase UBC’s talent and innovation on the global stage, while keeping the momentum going by gearing up to reclaim the championship title in 2025.
Every robot we build represents hours of collaboration, problem-solving and a drive to advance robotics technology. More than just a competition, RoboCup is a chance for our team to grow, learn and contribute to the future of autonomous robotics. Your support helps us open doors for students, expand access to STEM education and inspire the next generation of engineers.
For more details about our team and our cause, including our mission, values and history, we encourage you to explore our online presence.
