In 2025, three Zebra Robotics teams travelled to Singapore City for the World Robot Olympiad Internationals — and together they delivered some of the most dramatic storylines in the program’s history.
Parallax — Nila Thiyagarajan, Shruti Nehete, and Suvali Mukherjee, all in Grades 9/10 had to fight for their spot from the start. After finishing second at the GTA Regionals, the team came from behind at Canada Nationals to beat competitors as old as Grade 12 and university-level, claiming first place and the trip to Singapore. Once there, the team hit an unexpected snag: a difference in wall height forced last-minute tweaks to their robotic arm, throwing off one of their most reliable missions. They sat below 50th position after Day 1 — but didn’t fold. On Day 2, Parallax fought back, completing several surprise challenges to climb into the top 40% overall. A young, resilient team with a future that looks very bright.
R&D — siblings Devanshi Sharma and Riyanshi Sharma — built a Future Innovators Senior project that turned heads all week: an AI-enabled assistive hand for cancer patients, sensor-equipped and genuinely novel. After winning first at Regionals and Nationals, the sisters arrived in Singapore as legitimate podium contenders, drawing a steady stream of judges to their booth. When final scores were announced, the result was almost unbearably close — they missed the podium by just 0.7 points out of 150, finishing 4th overall. A heartbreaking margin, but a project — and a sibling team — that made a real impression on the world stage.
Electrostatics — Rishy Grewal, Pranavkumar Redlapalli, and Akhil Thangamani — brought one of the event’s more inventive ideas to Future Innovators Junior: a reverse-magnetic vacuum robotic arm designed to clean lunar dust from moon rovers. The working prototype was an instant hit, and the team sat in the top 3 after Day 1. Then circumstance intervened — the entire team came down with the flu overnight, and a weakened Day 2 presentation cost them ground, dropping them to 7th place. Not the finish their project deserved, but a genuine testament to a team that still pushed through to the end.
A comeback story, a 0.7-point heartbreak, and a team derailed by bad timing rather than bad engineering — Singapore 2025 was proof that at the World Robot Olympiad, the margins are razor-thin, and resilience matters as much as the robot itself.
In 2025, two Zebra Robotics teams represented Canada at WRO Americas in Panama City, Panama — one delivering a standout rookie debut, the other gaining invaluable experience against far more seasoned competition.
Pink Boba Pearls — Swara and Sadhya, both in Grade 11 — competed in the Future Engineers category with BETI, a self-designed Raspberry Pi-based robot. For a rookie team, the result was exceptional: BETI carried the pair to a 4th-place overall finish at WRO Americas, representing Canada on a stage typically dominated by far more experienced competitors. A debut performance like that says a lot about both the engineering and the composure behind it.
Teddy and Berry — Sarvesh Sathish, Maria Jiffin, and Tea Isono, all in Grade 7 — qualified for WRO Americas in RoboSports after finishing 4th at Canada Nationals. In Panama, they found themselves competing directly against university-level students — a significant jump in experience and skill. The team didn’t qualify for the playoffs this time, but walked away with something just as valuable: a close-up look at what top-tier competition looks like, and a clear sense of the bar they’re now aiming for.
A rookie team finishing 4th overall, and a group of Grade 7 students testing themselves against university competitors — both stories capture what WRO Americas is really about: not just the results on the scoreboard, but the experience of competing, learning, and growing from it.
In 2024, Zebra Robotics sent its largest delegation yet to the World Robot Olympiad International Finals in Izmir, Türkiye — four teams, four categories, and a season’s worth of preparation put to the test on the world’s biggest robotics stage. Every team arrived having already won first place at both the GTA Regionals and Canada Nationals, and the results in Izmir reflected just how prepared they were.
Woodchucks — Nila Thiyagarajan, Riyanshi Sharma, and Shruti Nehete — competed in Future Innovators, Junior, with an AI-enabled robot designed to recognize and collect garbage on sidewalks. The judges took notice: their documentation and prototype were called near-perfect. The team carried that polish into the finals, closing out the competition in the top 20% globally.
Agribot — Zorez Gilani and Pranavkumar Redlapalli — brought a different kind of innovation to Future Innovators, Elementary: an agricultural robot that detects irregular ground levels in a field and levels it for microfarming. The project landed them in 5th place overall — a finish inside the top 8, prestigious enough to earn a mention at the WRO awards ceremony.
Miracle Monkeys — Vishnu Jeyakumar, Advik Bhagavatula, and Shlok Raval — ran a near-perfect Day 1 in Robo Mission Junior, putting themselves in strong position heading into Day 2. With the clock reading 5 seconds left on their final run — a run that had them on track for 7th place — the team triggered a program download that didn’t complete in time, forfeiting the run entirely. The team ultimately finished 23rd. It’s the kind of result that’s painful in the moment, but the kind of lesson — about timing, risk, and when to trust a result already in hand — that no classroom can teach quite the same way.
Alpha Nulls — Vedant Nehete and Devanshi Sharma — were nearly flawless from start to finish in Robo Mission Senior. A clean Day 1 set up an equally strong Day 2, and the team closed out the competition in 8th place overall — another finish inside the prestigious top 8, earning recognition on the awards stage.
From a top-8 finish to a five-second heartbreak, Izmir was a showcase of everything WRO is meant to test: not just engineering skill, but composure, timing, and the ability to perform when it matters most. Four teams, four different stories — and a Zebra Robotics delegation that left Türkiye with plenty to be proud of, and just as much to build on.
In 2024, two Zebra Robotics teams traveled to Puerto Rico to compete at WRO Americas, the regional championship bringing together top teams from across North, Central, and South America — and both delivered the kind of nail-biting, lead-trading performance that makes robotics competitions so compelling to watch.
AR24 — Anvi Gupta and Rajas Salunke — punched their ticket to Puerto Rico after finishing third at Canada Nationals. Once there, they came out firing: the team finished Day 1 in first place, putting themselves squarely in podium contention. Day 2 proved tougher, and the team ultimately settled into 4th place overall — a strong, competitive finish against a regional field stacked with talent.
Stunky Monkeys — Reyaansh Desai and Rishy Grewal — followed a near-identical path to get there, also qualifying for WRO Americas with a third-place finish at Nationals. Like their teammates, they led the field after Day 1. Their Day 2, though, came with a hard lesson: a single careless mistake cost them full points on a run that, by all accounts, would have been enough to push them to the top of the podium. They finished 4th overall — heartbreakingly close to where the scoreboard suggested they belonged.
Two teams, two nearly identical arcs — strong qualification, a Day 1 lead, and a Day 2 that didn’t go quite to plan. But finishing 4th at a regional final, twice over, is no small accomplishment. If anything, both results point to exactly the kind of teams Zebra Robotics is building: ones that compete to win, not just to participate.
In 2022, Lavanya became a Zebra Robotics franchisee, opening Zebra Robotics Brampton East centre in Ontario, Canada . She is a Senior Manager in Engineering by day and inspires the future leaders of STEM by night at Zebra Robotics. Lavanya is strongly backed by her husband Raghavendra and her two sons who stand by her and share the same values of making a positive impact in STEM education and their community.
Q: Could you tell us about your career prior to joining Zebra?
A: Before joining Zebra Robotics, I accumulated over 15 years of experience in delivery management, enterprise and solution architecture, and technical leadership. In my current role as a Senior Manager in Engineering, I oversee critical applications that support operations and ensure teams have the robust, reliable systems they need to deliver exceptional service. As an engineer myself, I recognize that technical skills alone are not sufficient for success. Therefore, I focus on fostering essential soft skills such as effective communication, teamwork and collaboration, problem-solving, adaptability, leadership, time management, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, networking, and creativity. By instilling these skills in students, I aim to prepare them to become strong leaders in their respective fields.
Q: What sparked your interest in STEM education and business ownership?
A: Growing up, I was always fascinated by technology and how things worked, which led me to pursue a career in the STEM field. As I advanced in my career, I noticed a significant gap in resources and opportunities for underrepresented groups, particularly girls and children with visible and invisible disabilities.
After numerous years of volunteering for this cause, and feeling limited in making concrete progress due to changes in leadership and vision, I realized I wanted to take control over the impact I could have and create a lasting vision for significant change.
Becoming a business owner with Zebra Robotics allowed me to turn this vision into reality. It provided me with a platform to develop programs and initiatives that focus on accessibility, engagement, and fostering a love for STEM among students. Through my work, I aim to break down barriers and encourage every student to pursue their passions in technology and innovation.
Q: What are some aspects of Zebra Robotics as a company that led you to become Zebra franchise owner?
A: As a senior technology leader with a strong educational background in computer science and extensive experience in the software industry, it was crucial for me to choose an organization that prioritizes quality in its curriculum. I also wanted to focus on developing students’ interpersonal and essential skills, and the curriculum at Zebra Robotics meets all those needs.
As Peter Drucker once said, “Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” This philosophy resonates with me, as Zebra Robotics not only aligns with university-level education but also reflects industry requirements, ensuring that students are well-prepared for their future careers. The company’s vision of fostering a love for STEM and empowering future leaders further solidified my decision to become a franchise owner.
Q: What franchise support has been the most beneficial to you?
A: As an engineer at heart without a business background, the comprehensive training provided by Zebra Robotics has been instrumental in my development as a franchise owner. The numerous-hour coach training covered essential topics such as program offerings, curriculum development, classroom management, and the use of the student portal and learning management system. Additionally, as manager/owner, training focused on sales and customer engagement, corporate IT systems, and marketing techniques. This extensive training has equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively manage and grow my franchise.
Most recently, the franchise summit was a great addition to this experience, where we had the opportunity to learn collectively as a team from other franchise owners. It truly felt like a close-knit family that learns and grows together.
We wish Lavanya continued success as a Zebra franchisee and business owner! To learn more about Zebra Robotics franchise options, please visit our website.
Beautiful beaches, incredible cuisine, and fierce robotic competition awaits all at the Puerto Rico WRO Invitational!
The two teams stopping by the water after the event.
Last week saw two of our teams, Stunky Monkeys and AR 24, heading over to the Puerto Rico to compete in the World Robot Olympiad Invitations! These two teams were asked to represent Canada on the world stage, an honour they were excited to receive!
They spent a couple of short months preparing, perfecting their runs as best they could, while also trying to prepare for the surprise challenge. Surprise challenges often doesn’t get attempted by many teams due to their on-the-spot nature but can provide teams with a boost in points to help get them ahead.
Feeling confident, they packed their bags and headed down to beautiful Puerto Rico alongside the very founder of Zebra Robotics.
The first day brought many surprises. Competition was stiff with many strong teams from across the globe working hard to set themselves apart from the crowd, vying, of course, for first place by the end of the day. Doing so would make quite the impression, showing that the country they represent is to be taken seriously in the world of STEM.
Our teams worked hard running their robots with precision and fixing issues as they appeared. With a little bit of elbow grease and quick thinking they managed to secure not just a first-place position, but also a second-place position by the end of the day! Thus, cementing Canada as a dangerous competitor in the field of STEM. An incredible achievement!
At the event, representing Canada.
Day two became even more intense as teams began fueling their furnaces and beating their war drums. Some tried to change their tactics on the fly, while others stayed the path of their original plans. As the competition rose, our teams knew they needed to do something bold.
Their runs had been thus far consistent, a must for robotics. But the competition was getting fierce, and others had started to shake off their rust. The previous day had seen our teams attempting the surprise challenge which had helped them to pull ahead and get their first and second place wins. But doing so on the second day is much riskier. Not only is it a different surprise challenge from the day before, but you also get one less attempt at it, making it a sink or swim situation.
After carefully mulling it over, they decided the risk was worth it. They felt confident in their knowledge and capabilities. They’ve done so many competitions before. They’ve practiced their craft for what felt like forever. They knew they could do it.
With limited time, they wrote new code to attempt the final day’s surprise challenge, testing it only briefly before completing their final run. Few others even thought about trying to complete the surprise challenge, let alone take a crack at it. And so, when rubber hit mat, the judges were impressed by our team’s tenacity.
Posing for the camera after another fun day of competition.
As the day came to a close, the judges went to confer with one another. As the judges tallied, exchange score cards, and deliberated, everyone waited with bated breath. A conscious was reached. A decision made.
The totals were close, with only a handful of points separating winners in some cases. Out of twenty-four teams, our Elementary category team earned a fourth-place position, just barely below third. Out of thirty teams, our Junior category team also earned a fourth-place position, also just a few points away from third.
We are incredibly proud of our team’s hard work! While they were just shy of a podium finish, the fact that we shocked everyone with our first and second place positions on the first day is something to celebrate. Not only that, but our runs were consistent, something that is required for robotics. Especially if you want to do it as a career. And of course, the fact that both our teams attempted the surprise challenges shows that the knowledge we have imparted onto them gives them the ability to do things on their own. To act boldly, autonomously, and without reservation.
Already our two teams are looking forward, hungrily eyeing their next competition, and already looking to prepare for their next attempt at first on the world stage. So keep an eye out, because sometime soon these incredible young engineers will be taking home the gold.
The robots have been run, and the points have been totaled. It’s official: four Zebra Robotics teams are going to Turkey for the International World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in November! These teams have been working hard since regionals to make their dreams a reality. This work has paid off, as ALL FOUR TEAMS got first place in their respective categories!
WRO Teams Celebrate in Montreal
Team Agribots came first in the Elementary Future Innovators category! They redesigned their robot after the regionals to a more sleek-looking, polished design.
The Woodchucks came first in the Junior Future Innovators category! They spent a ton of time at Zebra knuckling down on their design, ensuring it would run well on the day of the competition.
Team -0.618 came first in the Senior Robomission category! This team set its sights high early in the season and has been studiously perfecting a robot based on advanced math and with an innovative, efficient design.
The Miracle Monkeys came first in the Junior Robomission category! No strangers to competition, they knew that if they put in the work, they would come out on top. And they did!
We are proud of all our teams, as they all took what they had learned over the years and skillfully applied their knowledge to design the best robots possible. We know they will represent Canada well on the world stage.
But the fun isn’t over yet! We have four more teams who may make it to international competition. We will know on Friday if two of our high-scoring teams will be able to compete in either Puerto Rico or Italy at WRO Open Invitationals. Zebra is also fielding teams in two additional categories whose regionals are in September: Future Engineers and Robosports. Stay tuned to our socials to see we are sending more teams to international competition!
Big wins at Zone01 Nationals!
Zone01 Teams Posing in Montreal
Also this week, Zebra teams competed in Zone01 Regionals. This Canadian competition ends at the national level, and since Regionals at the Ontario Science Centre, the teams have been hard at work engineering and recoding their robots. Focusing on bringing their times down and preparing for surprise challenges, our teams were excited to perform. And perform they did!
Team 2πR earned first place in the Junior category! Having scored first in the regionals with 110 points, they wanted to maintain that positive trend in the Nationals, and they most certainly did.
Team Untitled earned second place in the Elementary category! This team has been particularly focused this season, and they worked to ensure that their efforts wouldn’t go to waste.
Team JMX Robots earned third place in the Junior category! This team put a ton of time and effort into their robot, and that dedication helped them secure their first ever Nationals award.
We are proud of the teams that competed. Competition takes courage, as months of learning and preparation is distilled into three tiny runs. Competition teams learn a lot about themselves and how to meet challenges with persistence and resolve. And that, to us, is the purpose of competition.
In 2023, Zebra Robotics brought three teams to Panama City, Panama for the World Robot Olympiad Internationals — and the results ranged from a historic, country-first podium finish to hard-fought lessons that set the stage for next season.
The Oceanic Pioneers — Dave Grewal and Shourya Seth — competed in the Future Innovators category with a project tackling a real-world maritime problem: a magnetic robot capable of climbing a ship’s hull vertically to clean it while docked, cutting cleaning time enough to save up to 30% in fuel costs. The idea resonated at every level. The team took first place at both Regionals and Nationals, then went on to win the Silver Medal at the World Finals — marking the first ever podium finish for Canada at a WRO International event. Zebra Robotics is proud to have been the team that brought that milestone home.
The Energizerz — Christian Dal Dosso, Madhes Kamal, and Tej Shah — took on RoboSports, one of WRO’s most physically demanding categories, where robots compete head-to-head in real time. The team finished first at Canada Nationals to punch their ticket to Internationals, where they advanced all the way to the quarterfinals — going up against teams stacked with university-level competitors. For a team built entirely of Grade 9 students, reaching that stage of the bracket was a remarkable result, and a sign of real things to come.
Miracle Monkeys — Vishnu Jeyakumar, Advik Bhagavatula, and Shlok Raval — competed in Robo Mission Junior, bringing real consistency to the competition. They opened strong on Day 1, finishing in the top 30, then came back on Day 2 to complete more than half the mission, closing out the event in the top 40% overall. For a young team, it was a result packed with lessons — and a clear sense of unfinished business heading into next season.
A historic podium finish, a deep playoff run against older competitors, and a strong learning experience — together, the three teams captured exactly what Zebra Robotics aims for at every WRO: ambitious ideas, real engineering, and the drive to keep improving.
Months. It had been months of tweaking, tinkering, and labouring over their various robots in preparation for the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO) Internationals. The students would come in whenever they had the time to spare between school and clubs. They worked weeknights and weekends on their projects, readying themselves for the challenge ahead. But as November 7-9 approached, they finally felt ready to represent Canada on the world stage.
As the competition date approached, they traveled down by plane to Panama City, anticipating stiff competition. They pulled into their hotels and began tinkering and tweaking some more. Their families were behind them. Canada was behind them. Zebra Robotics was behind them. They were ready to perform.
The RoboMission and RoboSports members travelling to the event.
The WRO stage was electric. Teams from all over the world were primed, ready to show off the skills they’d worked so very hard on. The first up were the RoboMission competitors. This was our team’s first WRO International and they were grade 8 competitors in a sea of high schoolers. But the team wasn’t discouraged. They did some final tweaks, then set their robot to work on this year’s themed challenges. After a hard-fought battle, they were defeated. But our RoboMission team took it in stride and have learned from the experience. Nimbler designs, tighter programming, and an anticipatory mindset can be expected for next year, when they rise to the challenge again.
The RoboMission Team with their robot
RoboSports were up next. Like the RoboMission team, they had never experienced a WRO International before. They too were also among the youngest in the category, going against university and college level students. With some final tweaks, they finely tuned their robot. The game? Table tennis. Throughout the first day, they were nigh unstoppable. They won match after match, carving out a 3-0 lead by the afternoon. But, as with RoboMission, experience tipped the scales more than expected. By day two, our RoboSports team fell behind, beaten back by more experienced teams. Placing 30th, they were proud to have made it that far. They felt that they had learned a lot from the experience and took notes on the losses they had so that they could come back next year, stronger than ever.
The RoboSports team talking to a judge
This just left our Future Innovators team of Dave Grewal and Shourya Sheth. If you’ve been keeping along with our blog, you know that they had designed a robot to help combat biofouling on cargo ships. The robot would scale the sides of the cargo ships, removing biomaterial. This, in turn, would help reduce the spread of invasive species and improve fuel efficiency on the vessel. The idea is incredible on its own, but the competition isn’t just judged on idea alone. The team also must effectively communicate the idea, present confidently, and push the benefits of their innovative project.
The team had practiced their pitch numerous times by this point. They even had hands-on experience presenting at an Oakville fair that Zebra attended, as well as at a celebration event for MPPs Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand. They were confident. They were ready.
As the competition kicked off, the judges milled about from project to project, assessing and critiquing. After a table was judged, other teams would flood the table, asking questions about the judges, what they were looking for, how hard their questions would be, etc. But our team was confident in their position and patiently waited at their table for judgement. When asked about the experience Dave noted, “Throughout the first day of the competition, I felt confident during three of the judging sessions…although there lingered a slight nervousness and intimidation from the impressive projects presented by others.”
The Future Innovators Team taking a photo with the Judges
The first pair of judges came and went. They were stoic, giving away nothing of their feelings about our Future Innovators’ idea. The only feedback came in the form of more judgement. Another pair of judges. Another set of hard questions. Scribbling on paper. A thank you. Moving on.
Day one finished, and our team was still in the running. They were ecstatic, proud of their ability to articulate themselves and their idea so thoroughly. As day two started, they put on their finest. Once more, judges passed through the booths, with tougher and tougher questions, testing the intricate knowledge of the teams. However, for the first part of the day, the judges steered clear of our competitors booths. Shourya said, “I was disappointed when we didn’t have callbacks because we felt our presentations went really well.”But as the day rolled on, eventually, the judges turned their sights on our competitors. Dave commented, “The unexpected turn of events heightened my confidence.” Steeled by their previous experiences, our team effortlessly answered any curveballs that came at them, demonstrating that they had thoroughly thought out their innovative design.
And then it was over. After 8 relentless rounds of judging, the day finished, and the winners would be decided after a long round of deliberation. They packed up their project and waited for several agonizing hours to see if their hard work prevailed.
And we are proud to say that it did.
When the winners were announced, our team was honoured to hear that they placed Second in the Future Innovators—Senior category with their project on biofouling. History was made, as they stepped up to the podium to receive their award, as this is the first time Canada has ever made it into the top 3 since 2014, when Canada first joined WRO. Holding up the Canadian flag, Dave and Shourya stood proud of their accomplishments, excited to have written a paragraph in history.
Dave and Shourya posing with their trophy
When asked how they felt about their win, Shourya said, “The most rewarding part of the competition was learning how to build more complicated and industrial robots aside from Lego, which could actually be used to benefit the world.” Dave commented, “The most rewarding aspect was establishing friendships and connections with participants from various countries. I gained valuable insights from diverse perspectives, including those of fellow competitors, investors, coaches, and representatives from other nations.”
If you get a chance, ask Shourya and David about their innovative project, as well as their experiences at WRO. They would be more than happy to share.
With the WRO Internationals over, we are proud to say that we successfully represented Canada on the world stage. Like our students, we learned a lot from the competition, and now know what we need to teach our students to better prepare them for future competitions. We will be ready for the next WRO competition, and we hope you will be there alongside us, cheering on the students once more. Thank you for reading!
Just this past weekend, we had an incredibly important celebration for our national and international World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) competitors! Wanting to celebrate their achievements we had been hard at work setting up a small event for the kids this Saturday, with demonstrations, speeches, and of course, food. But behind the scenes, Jami had been toiling away on another secret project. Equipped with a silver tongue, she managed to invite and convince some of our local MPP’s to come down and show their support for our hard-working students as well! MPP’s Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand were more than delighted to make an appearance, and honour the competitors, even bringing special awards recognizing their triumphs.
Parents were the first to arrive, catching up with one another, as well as sharing their experiences of the national finals. The kids mingled among each other, either grabbing food, or checking up on their robots, fine tuning them before the MPPs arrivals. Not too long after, the ministers rolled in, and the teams were ready to show off all their hard work. The Future Innovators delivered their well-crafted presentation and demonstration of their robot to combat biofouling. The RoboMission team showed off their robots’ agility and precision by picking up, carrying, and carefully placing rings. In a new twist on RoboSports, the autonomous robots played against the MPPs who tossed the balls back as if they were a robot team.
The Future Innovators Team show off their robot to combat biofouling. MPP Nina Tangri asks questions about the project.
After the festivities, speeches were held by founder Satish, alongside the wonderful MPP’s. They congratulated the students and encouraged them to keep reaching for the stars, as who else but the next generation would be able to grasp them. Then each team was awarded a special certificate, recognition from the Government of Ontario for their accomplishments. Parents and coaches alike burst into applause as the teams received their awards, handed to them by both Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand. Finally, the teams going to Panama were presented with the Canada jerseys they will wear throughout the WRO competition, and they had a chance to pose with the Canadian flag.
The teams going to WRO Internationals pose with the coaches and MPPs Nina Tangri and Deepak Anand.
As the event came to a close, students went back to their parents, receiving smiles, hugs, and words of affirmation. It was a brilliant sendoff for our international competitors and a proud recognition of our national competitors after all their hard work.
Stay posted to our blog and social media for updates on the international teams as they travel to Panama in two weeks’ time. As we cheer on the international competitors, we are already gearing up for the FLL season and starting a new season of STRIPE Competition. Stay tuned for updates on both of those as well! Thank you for reading!
