As the remarkable robot built by Boys Town Jerusalem’s Robotics Team heads to its first international competition, it has already survived more than a few close calls. During the war, when airraid sirens wailed, team members raced down five flights of stairs to the bomb shelter – robot in hand.
Representing Israel on the International Stage
This month, the acclaimed Boys Town Jerusalem Robotics Team will proudly represent Israel at the prestigious Canada Cup of Robotics in the 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition. The challenge of building a better robot has driven the seven-member BTJ team – students aged 14 to 18 – to explore, experiment, and innovate without limits. Guided with care by three BTJgraduate mentors in the school’s Follender Robotics Center, the students have developed new concepts to elevate the robot’s performance.
Innovation, Creativity, and AI-Powered Design
“The contest involves autonomous robots competing to collect ‘fuel’ (plastic balls), shoot them into their ‘hubs,’ and then climb back to their towers in record time,” explains team captain Amichai Romain, 15. “Our team created a new mechanism that lets us shoot balls at superspeed, three at a time. We also designed systems to keep the robot balanced while accelerating its speed and force, using AI to calculate the optimal shooting velocity.”
Building Champions On and Off the Competition Floor
Throughout the war, Amichai personally devoted countless hours to coding the robot’s many mechanisms. “We programmed every joystick and camera so the robot can instantly find the best angles and shoot with the ideal distance and force.” But the BTJ Robotics Club offers far more than technical skills. It fosters collaboration and community. “We share experiences, challenges, and spare parts with other teams in the Jerusalem Robotics Coalition, and we mentor new teams as well,” Amichai adds proudly. “We’ll do our very best to become champions – but we already know that every single day, we’re winners!”