Sat–Sun, 10–11 Oct 2026 · TU Dresden, Barkhausenbau
Free entry · Beginners welcome · Only 75 seats, first come, first served
#makebotsmove
Two days. One playground for mobile robotics.
On October 10–11, TU Dresden’s Barkhausenbau turns into a test track for mobile robots. Drones, AGVs and service bots: you get the hardware, the mentors and the chance to test and work with robots and technology you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Serious engineering, plenty of fun. We call it enjoynieering.
Come hack. Build. Move. Enjoy. Win.
FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS IN
Who can join
Students, startups, curious minds. Beginners welcome.
No robotics experience? No problem. Come solo or bring your team: if you come alone, you’ll find teammates at the team formation on Saturday morning. The whole weekend runs in English, it’s 18+ and completely free.
01
Students
Any field · any semester
Computer science, electrical or mechanical engineering, design or something else entirely. Get your hands on robots and hardware you won’t find in a lecture hall.
02
Startups
Build · test · pitch
Test your idea on real hardware, work with mentors from research and industry, and pitch your prototype to the LaunchHub42 team on Sunday.
03
Beginners & curious minds
No experience needed
Never programmed a robot? Perfect. Mentors are on hand to help you get started, and teams mix all levels.
04
Pros & researchers
Bring your stack
2× Boston Dynamics Spot, 20 Crazyflies, Franka, UR5e, full ROS 2 and a native 5G network. Push it further.
01 · TRACKS
Challenges
Six tracks. One goal: make bots move.
Pick a track that fits your team, or bring your own idea. Every challenge runs on real hardware, with mentors and equipment on site. Winners are decided Sunday afternoon by an independent jury.
01
Autonomous Navigation
RouteMaster · PathQuest
Build a robust navigation stack that guides a drone, AGV, or rover through waypoints using onboard perception. Localize, plan, and execute collision-free trajectories under changing lighting, feature-poor environments, and dynamic scenes.
02
Multi-Robot Collaboration
BetterTogether
Design a coordination framework so multiple robots (drones, AGVs, mixed fleets) collaborate in real time. Exchange mission-critical info, avoid collisions, adapt to changing objectives, and accomplish tasks no single robot could.
03
Computer Vision & AI
SmartSight · Insight AI
Build an innovative perception application. Object detection, semantic understanding, visual localization, vision-language reasoning, or foundation models: pick your problem. Intelligent perception that solves real-world challenges.
04
Physical AI & Imitation Learning
Bring your own
Teach a robot a new skill by showing rather than programming. Imitation learning, teleoperation demonstrations, or foundation-model-driven behaviours on our humanoid and AGV platforms. Open-ended: surprise us.
05
Intuitive Human-Robot Interaction
Robot Whisperer · Beyond the Joystick
Design an intuitive interface for seamless human-robot communication. XR, gesture recognition, body/hand tracking, wearables, haptic feedback, IoT sensors: pick your modality. Judged on usability, responsiveness, and intuitiveness.
06
Hack the Service Bot
We have four Plato service robots and no closed source. Reverse-engineer, hijack, and repurpose. Get them moving under your control. Ideal for anyone into digital sovereignty and open robotics platforms.
02 · PLATFORMS
Tech & Equipment
Real hardware. Real stacks. Ready to hack.
Every platform here will be on site October 10–11, powered up, and ready. Full ROS 2 support across the stack. A native 5G network wrapped around the venue courtesy of Campus Genius. Mentors on hand to help you get running fast.
Drones
- Crazyflie 2.1 brushless ×20 · Lighthouse / Optical Flow / Multi Ranger · ROS 2 humble-jazzy
- ModalAI Starling 2 ×1 · ROS 2 foxy/humble
- PX4 mid-size drones ×2 · assembled with SMAROBIX
AGVs & Rovers
- DJI Robomaster EP ×2 · ROS 2 foxy-lyrical
- Clearpath Jackal ×1 · ROS 2 jazzy (SMAROBIX)
- Olive ANT ×1 · ROS 2 humble
- ROBOTIS Turtlebot ×3
- ROSbot XL (Husarion)
- KATE Götting ×1 · ROS kinetic-melodic
Legged & Service
- Boston Dynamics Spot ×2 · ROS 2 humble (spot_ros2 wrapper)
- Plato service robots ×4 · open for hacking
Compute, XR, Fabrication
- HoloLens 2 ×2 · Meta Quest · NUC PCs
- NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin
- Bambu Lab X1E / H2C / H2D · 3D printing on-site
- Soldering stations · 2 large toolboxes
- Arduino / ESP32 / D1 Mini kits
- Native 5G playground around the venue
Robots & Cobots
Franka Emika
Universal Robots UR5e
Igus Rebel
03 · AROUND THE MAIN EVENT
Satellite Events
The hackathon is the main event. But it’s not the only one.
A weekend in Dresden is more than 48 hours of hacking. Bring family, bring your team, bring the wider community. Here’s what else is happening around and next to the main tracks.
BOTH DAYS · WORKSHOPS
Hands-on Workshops
Parallel to the hacking, mentors and partners run short workshops on business pitching, tools and technologies. Drop in, pick up a new skill, get straight back to your team. Full program coming soon.
BOTH DAYS · INTERNAL AREA
SKR Demo Build
The SKR consortium builds its next-generation live demo on the show floor. Come watch, ask questions, and see what happens when a research consortium hacks in public.
SUN · ADD-ON
Business Pitch
Optional side-quest for teams who want to think beyond the code. Pitch your prototype as a business (market, use case, scalability) in front of the LaunchHub42 team.
SAT · 21:00
After Party with DJ Raenderson
DJ Raenderson on the decks, BBQ from 19:00. Beer, snacks, and enough energy to hack through the night, or dance and start fresh Sunday morning.
04 · THE ECOSYSTEM
Partner & Supporters
Built with the strongest ecosystem in Eastern Germany’s robotics scene.
This event is powered by the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks at TU Dresden, together with the leading robotics research clusters, industry partners, startups, and networks across Saxony and beyond.
Honour the best and gain visibility.
Become a partner or supporter
05 · THE HACKATHON JOURNEY
Agenda
Sat Oct 10
Start
Program
Location
09:00
Doors are open
Schönfeldhörsaal
09:30
Challenge and Team selection
Schönfeldhörsaal
10:00
Move to workshop rooms
BAR
10:45
Start
BAR
12:30
Lunch
BAR
19:00
BBQ
ComSpace
21:00
Day 1 Party with DJ Raenderson
CeTIBAR
Parallel workshops all day.
more to come
Sun Oct 11
Start
Program
Location
08:30
Doors are open
Schönfeldhörsaal
09:00
Welcome to Day 2
Schönfeldhörsaal
09:15
Move to workshop rooms
BAR
12:30
Lunch
BAR
16:00
Final preparation
BAR
17:00
Final presentations in front of the Jury
Schönfeldhörsaal
18:00
End
Parallel workshops all day.
more to come
06 · GOOD TO KNOW
FAQ
Everything you need before you sign up.
No. Participation is completely free, including meals, the BBQ and the after-party.
No. Beginners are welcome: mentors are on hand and teams mix all levels.
Yes. Throughout the weekend there are parallel workshops on business pitching, tools and technologies. The full program follows soon.
Yes. Register on your own and find your team at the team formation on Saturday morning (09:30, Schönfeldhörsaal).
English.
18 or older.
Your laptop and charger. Robots, drones, 3D printers and tools are provided on site.
It might happen. How late you go on Saturday is up to your team.
Prizes and jury criteria will be announced soon. Follow us on LinkedIn. Winners are decided on Sunday by an independent jury.
75 in total, first come, first served. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
TU Dresden, Barkhausenbau (BAR), Georg-Schumann-Straße 11, 01062 Dresden. We kick off in the Schönfeldhörsaal. In the agenda, BAR stands for the Barkhausenbau.
Ready to move?
Registration is open, but seats are limited to 75. First come, first served.
Beginners welcome: no robotics experience needed, mentors are on site all weekend. Free entry, meals and after-party included. You bring the ideas, we bring the hardware.
07 · Finding your way
Venue & rooms
Everything happens in the Barkhausen-Bau and in LaunchHub42 next door, at TU Dresden, Georg-Schumann-Str. 11/13, 10–11 October 2026. Pick a room to see where it is.
08 · FRESH FROM THE BUILD-UP
News & Updates
The latest from the build-up.
Follow along as we lock in partners, unlock new challenges and add hardware to the inventory. Follow us on LinkedIn for real-time updates.
AUGUST 2026
Location confirmed: TU Dresden Barkhausenbau
The main venue is locked in: the Barkhausenbau BAR. Full 5G coverage inside the venue via Campus Genius.
JULY 2026
Hackathon announced: save the date
The Mobile Robotics Hackathon 2026 is happening October 10–11. Two days, 75 hackers, every kind of robot that moves. Registration is now open on Eventbrite. Spots are limited, so grab yours early.
Funded by
Clusters of Excellence
