A robot developed at EEUM in Guimarães took second place at RoboCup 2026 in South Korea, amongst the world’s best service robotics teams.
The CHARMIE robot, developed by the Automation and Robotics Laboratory at the University of Minho (UMinho), was crowned world runner-up in the RoboCup@Home competition, part of RoboCup 2026, held in Incheon, South Korea.
After a week of competition against the best international service robotics teams, CHARMIE secured second place in the overall standings, improving its position in the final and achieving a historic result for Portuguese research.
Of the 24 participating teams, only six reached the decisive stage of the competition. The robot from the University of Minho’s School of Engineering stood out for the consistency of its performance, thanks to the hardware and software developed entirely by the laboratory’s team of researchers and students.
Unlike many of the competing teams, which use commercial robotic platforms and have substantial budgets, CHARMIE was designed and built from scratch in Guimarães, the result of years of research and development.
This achievement was widely recognised by the other international teams and represents one of the greatest accomplishments ever by the University of Minho’s Automation and Robotics Laboratory, placing Portugal amongst the world’s elite in service robotics.
The team returned to Portugal with the title of world runners-up and a result that reinforces the prestige of the University of Minho and Portuguese research.
In this context, the team was received by Paços de Ferreira Town Council, where EEUM student Ana Carolina Lopes was honoured by the Mayor, Paulo Ferreira, at a ceremony that highlighted the student’s merit, effort and dedication throughout this journey.
During the session, Ana Carolina Lopes was recognised for her contribution to the University of Minho’s achievement of the World Runner-up title in the leading international service robotics competition.
These honours demonstrate the importance of the link between local authorities, universities and young researchers, valuing talent and encouraging new paths to excellence in the fields of science, engineering and innovation.
