For several years now, THWS – or, to be more precise, a team from the Center for Robotics (CERI) in Schweinfurt – has been taking part in the international RoboCup competition – with great success, as the many titles they have won demonstrate. The team always includes a number of students, whose involvement is driven by one particular aim: to gain practical experience through working directly on the robots.
Published on 06 March 2026
A robotic arm, mounted on a platform with four special wheels, moves through a simulated warehouse. The cables, computers, and software installed can be seen through a transparent box beneath the robotic arm. The robot navigates autonomously around obstacles, picks up an object and places it in a tray on its platform. It moves to a shelf on the other side of the laboratory and places the object there. This process takes place several times a day at the Center for Robotics – a practice run for the RoboCup competition.
RoboCup: Autonomous robotics solutions in competition
The RoboCup was launched back in 1997 to advance the state of the art in robotics and artificial intelligence at higher education institutions and to make it accessible to the general public. Since 2013, the RoboCup@Work league has been affiliated with the competition; it aims to solve robotics problems relating to Industry 4.0 and smart factories – the SWOT team from the Center for Robotics also takes part in this competition. “We focus on robotics that enables smart solutions – this includes autonomous navigation as well as the grasping and handling of objects,” says CERI Director Professor Dr. Tobias Kaupp.
The RoboCup takes place at both national and international level, and the THWS team has enjoyed a number of successes in recent years: in 2025, they were German champions and runners-up at the World Championships in Brazil – and in 2024, they even became world champions in the Netherlands. Laboratory engineer Martin Löser sees this competition as a great opportunity, particularly for students: “You simply gain a wealth of experience at such events and learn a great deal, both for life and for your future career!”
Teamwork: Students enrich the RoboCup team
The SWOT team – SW standing for Schweinfurt and OT for Robot – consists of CERI Director Professor Dr. Tobias Kaupp and laboratory engineers Martin Löser and Julian Müller. Alongside the permanent staff - a rotating group of students forms a key part of the team; currently, these are master’s students Maximilian Streng and Matthias Härle, as well as bachelor’s student Nithish Narayana Swamy. “We are trying to optimise the logistics processes in the factory so that these transport tasks between different workstations can ultimately be carried out by a robot,” explains Martin Löser. In 2019, on the initiative of Professor Dr. Kaupp – who had recently been appointed as a professor at the time – the idea arose to set up a team that would develop project-based solutions in the field of robotics – both to take part in competitions such as the RoboCup, and to enable practical work with robots at THWS. Professor Dr. Kaupp summarises: “The RoboCup is, above all, about training students and inspiring them to take an interest in robotics – and that is precisely where we come in at the Center for Robotics in Schweinfurt.”
Maximilian Streng, a master’s student of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, is currently the team lead of SWOT and is therefore responsible for sending the robot off to compete. From that point on, the team members have to trust what they have previously programmed – once the robot has been sent off, they are no longer allowed to intervene. “At first glance, what the robot is doing actually looks very simple. But behind the scenes, it’s really difficult,” says Maximilian Streng.
Despite fierce competition, particularly in Germany, the Schweinfurt team is holding its own in the competitions. According to Maximilian Streng, the high-quality industrial platform forms the basis of the robot’s success. Martin Löser adds to the SWOT team’s recipe for success: “Our affiliation with CERI brings with it a wealth of hardware expertise. We also benefit from the fact that we have our own robotics degree programme and that, as a technical university of applied sciences, we generally take a very practical and industry-oriented approach.”
Why student involvement is worthwhile
Maximilian Streng sees the main advantage of the project-based master’s programme as being that it allows students to devote more time to projects such as the RoboCup. For his master’s thesis, he is researching path-planning algorithms for robots, which are also used in the RoboCup competition. “Not only can you focus on a project over a longer period and gain hands-on experience, but you also receive feedback from the team on how to improve your project.” In addition, students gain in-depth experience with ROS, the Robot Operating System, which is relevant for their future careers as robotics engineers. “It helps if you’ve already had some experience with the system – and the topic of ROS is also touched upon in the lectures. So you’re gaining knowledge here that you can ultimately use for the exam as well.”
Students usually spend a few days a week in the CERI lab. Anyone who’s keen and passionate about robotics can join the SWOT team. “Anyone who shows initiative and gets in touch with us is very welcome to get involved,” explains Martin Löser. However, after getting to grips with the vast amount of complex information and systems, some people are quickly put off, which is why you really need to be keen to work with the robot. Master’s student Matthias Härle understands this: “I’m still quite at the beginning myself, and at the start there’s a lot of software and existing code that you have to work your way through. But it’s all the more fun when everything works and you know why.”
From major successes to practical lessons learnt
“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from programming robots, it’s this: keep it simple. Complexity in programming is often counterproductive, and wherever possible, you should always keep the system simple,” says Maximilian Streng, referring to the practical experience the project has given him.
Taking part in the RoboCup not only offers students practical experience in developing robotic solutions, but also gives them a taste of international competition. Maximilian Streng most recently took part in the World Cup in Brazil, where he learnt to deal with unexpected problems: “It’s actually not that easy to fly a robot to Brazil. We had problems with customs, so our robot eventually arrived two days later than planned and we had to get it ready for the competition at very short notice.” Ultimately, though, the competition also facilitates an exchange with other teams who, in the end, solve the same tasks in different ways – which is a great source of inspiration.
Bachelor’s student Nithish Narayana Swamy is currently working in the SWOT team on a robotic arm designed to grasp an object from a rotating disc. His biggest lesson: you learn from your mistakes! “My topic is very sensitive as my robot has to operate in a dynamic environment. Therefore, I have to be very careful about what I change in my code. But the only way you learn is by making mistakes.” Allowing mistakes and learning from them to ultimately achieve an even better result – this happens every day at the Center for Robotics as part of the preparations for the RoboCup. For the students, this means gaining a wealth of practical experience and also brings international success for the entire SWOT team.
