Bengaluru duo wins WRO national title, set for Puerto Rico final
James Mathew and Aarnav Ramesh Gowda of Brigade School, Malleshwaram, won the Future Innovators Junior title at the WRO National Championship 2026 in Hyderabad.
Two 12-year-old students from Bengaluru have claimed the national title at the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) National Championship 2026, held in Hyderabad from August 26 to 28.
James Mathew and Aarnav Ramesh Gowda, who study at Brigade School in Malleshwaram, finished first in the Future Innovators Junior category, edging out close to 400 competing teams from across the country.
The pair built a Music Experience Platform that combines robotic percussion, artificial intelligence and virtual instruments. Their project, developed around the theme "Robots Meet Culture", pursues two goals: making music more immersive for museum visitors and widening access to affordable music education in rural India.
Biju Mathew, a coach from Sky Walkers Academy, said he trained the two students and that the solution was built together using robotics and AI in line with the competition theme.
With the national win, the team will represent India at the international championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico, scheduled for December 2026.
The World Robot Olympiad is a global STEM competition that brings together young innovators to develop technology-driven solutions.