In an exceptional achievement, Mumbai-based high school robotics team Sigma 9692 has won the prestigious Engineering Inspiration Award at the FIRST Robotics Midwestern Regional Championship held in Chicago, USA. With this remarkable victory, Team Sigma has qualified to represent India at the FIRST World Championship in Houston from April 16–19, 2025.
Remarkably, this is only Team Sigma’s second year participating, a feat rarely accomplished by veteran teams globally. The team comprises 27 dedicated students, including 25 from 13 different schools in Mumbai, and two students working remotely from Indore and Delhi.
This year’s robotics challenge, “Reefscape,” tasked students with designing robots to place coral pieces at heights reaching 7 feet. Team Sigma’s robot, affectionately named “Spongebot,” excelled by ranking first in coral placement at the highest level and third in autonomous coding consistency. The robot features an innovative four-wheel swerve drive system, achieving speeds of 7 meters/second, and boasts an elevator mechanism that reaches 8 feet in just 0.5 seconds.
Beyond competition, Team Sigma has made a significant social impact, introducing robotics and coding to over 3,000 underserved students across Mumbai in two years. The team successfully raised ₹20 lakh from Indian corporates, setting up robotics labs in 10 underserved schools. Their outreach gained recognition from Maharashtra’s Skill Development Ministry, leading them to conduct a webinar on coding for 50,000 ITI students state-wide. Impressed by their initiative, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister personally congratulated the team.
Their impactful efforts have attracted sponsorship from Adipro, a Hong Kong-based chemical MNC. Team Sigma is mentored by RFL Academy and their talented coaches – Mr. Virendra, Mr. Atul and Mr. Sunil, led by RFL’s cofounder and CEO, Ashwin Shah, who recently received the esteemed Woodie Flowers Finalist Award in the US for outstanding mentorship in robotics education.
“We’re immensely proud of this achievement. It shows Indian students can lead globally in robotics,” said Ashwin Shah. Team vice-captainAravArzare added, “Winning this award motivates us further to spread robotics education to every corner of India.”
Team Sigma now prepares to compete against top international teams at the FIRST World Championship in Houston, representing India on a global stage and inspiring the next generation of young innovators.