Nonprofit by design
Educational Robotics Association Austria exists to promote robotics education, not to make money.
European Conference on Educational Robotics
ECER 2027 · Linz, Austria
build robots.
share ideas.
make it happen.
An educational robotics conference and competition for students. Five days of building, competing and discovering what you can do together. Last year we welcomed 47 teams from 3 continents. Making the conference truly international.
Save the date5–9 April 2027
Linz, AustriaLinzer Technikum
Come and be part of itFree admission
ECER introduction
New to ECER? This short video covers what it's about.
More than a competition
a place for your next big idea.
The European Conference on Educational Robotics brings students together for five days of robotics competitions, research talks and shared learning. Organised by ERAA, with students, for students.
Design, build and program an autonomous robot or drone with your team. At ECER, put it to the test alongside international teams. Once a scoring run begins, your code does the driving.
And when the robots stop, the ideas keep going. Present your research in English, learn from other teams and share the engineering behind your work.
See how ECER works
build.
An idea becomes a robot.
compete.
Your code takes the controls.
connect.
Share what you discover.
Curious how an autonomous match works? Explore a Botball game table
Find your challenge
six ways to make it yours.
Five robotics competitions and a research track. From your first robot to your next engineering challenge.
Botball
One kit. Your engineering.
Build and program two autonomous robots from a standard kit.
Junior Botball
Your first autonomous robot
Learn to build and code through supported, beginner-friendly missions.
Open
Your hardware. The same challenge.
Play the Botball game with no hardware limits. Bring your own platform.
Aerial Junior
Take your code into the air
Program a small drone to complete autonomous flight challenges.
Aerial Senior
Build it. Fly it. Autonomously.
Bring hardware and software together in a custom autonomous drone.
Papers & Talks
Your ideas deserve a stage
Present your research and share your discoveries with other students.
Your road to ECER 2027
from first idea to the final round.
Join us 5–9 April 2027 at Linzer Technikum in Linz, Austria. Here are the milestones to plan around.
- 01
15 December 2026
Get your team in
Botball registration closes early so equipment can ship from the USA. Other track deadlines will be confirmed with registration.
- 02
January 2027
Meet the challenge
Game documents, construction rules and the Call for Papers go online. Start designing, programming and testing.
- 03
5–9 April 2027
Put it to the test
Bring your solution to Linzer Technikum. Compete, present your work and meet teams from around the world.
January to April: build, test, repeat. Make time to program, document and improve your solution. Use previous seasons’ documents for reference. Presenting research? Check the paper deadlines below.
Your team belongs here
bring your curiosity. bring your team.
ECER admission is free. Competition equipment, travel, accommodation and food are not included.
€0conference
admission
admission
Join ECER 2027
Registration is open. The Botball deadline is 15 December 2026.
Stay updated, join our DiscordStart with the track, then the kit.
Check equipment and approximate costs before buying. Ask about Botball kit reuse and Junior Botball equipment loans.
How ECER comes together
a nonprofit, built by volunteers.
Educational Robotics Association Austria is a registered nonprofit association. ECER only happens because volunteers give their evenings and weekends to organise it — and we can always use more.
Run by the community
Judges, mentors, builders and organisers all give their evenings, weekends and holidays because they care about robotics education, not because it is their job.
Always looking for hands
From judging matches to setting up the venue, there is a role for almost any skill and time budget. We can always use more volunteers.
Want to help make the next ECER happen? Judging, mentoring, building the venue, or something else entirely: get in touch ecer@eraa.at.
Become a volunteer Everything you need to prepare
the challenge starts here.
ECER 2027 documents are scheduled for January 2027. This is where you will find the rules and resources for your build.
Game documents
Game review, amendments and score sheets.
Expected January 2027Build your gametable
Game-table build plans and 3D-print files.
Expected January 2027Equipment & rules
Parts lists, kits, electronics and aerial rulebooks.
Expected January 2027 A conference where students are the scientists
your work. your discoveries. your stage.
Robotics is about more than the score. Write a paper, give a talk in English and share what you have discovered with an international audience.
Students and invited researchers present their ideas side by side. Take part in the research track as well as the competitions.
The Call for Papers is published in January 2027. Submissions are handled through the eLearning platform.
- First paper deadline
- to be announced
- Revised & late submissions
- to be announced
Paper submissions are not open yetRead past papers
From ECER 2026
see what students are working on.
presented on stage
Hardware and Ambient Variability in Botball Robots: Analysis and Mitigation
Mario Scholze
Download paper presented on stageIMU Calibration and Orientation Estimation on the Wombat Educational Robot
Tobias Madlberger, Matthias Greil
Download paper presented on stageComparing Traditional Computer Vision to AI-based Computer Vision for Object Detection
Martin Lindner, Tünde Moger, Rüzgar Gündüz, Paul Langer, Florian Bayer, Philipp Barabas
Download paper See you in Linz
Linzer Technikum.
5–9 April 2027
Paul-Hahn-Straße 44020 Linz, Austria
Coming to watch? Admission is free.
Plan your visit
Make your way to ECER
a little planning. a great week.
By rail
Travel to Linz Hauptbahnhof, then use the local route planner for the final connection to Paul-Hahn-Straße 4.
Train connectionsLocal transportBy air
Compare connections via Linz or Vienna Airport and continue to Linz by rail.
Linz AirportVienna AirportComing with a team?
Arrival times, equipment load-in, parking, accessibility, catering, workspaces and accommodation suggestions will be published in the team guide. Booking now or shipping equipment? Ask us first.
A few things you might be wondering
good questions. a place to start.
Have something else in mind?
Talk to the ECER team.
01 Who can take part?
ECER welcomes beginners through advanced student teams. Exact ages, team sizes and adult requirements are published with the competition rules.
- Botball: Middle and high school students working in teams.
- Junior Botball: A beginner-friendly route from late elementary to middle school.
- Open: Beginner to experienced teams playing the Botball game with no hardware limits.
- Aerial Junior: Beginner-friendly autonomous flight.
- Aerial Senior: Advanced teams who build their own drones.
Families, community groups and teams without a school should contact ECER to confirm eligibility before buying equipment.
02 When do we need to register?
For Botball, register by 15 December 2026, because equipment needs to ship from the USA. Deadlines for Junior Botball, Open and both Aerial competitions will be confirmed with registration.
03 What does participation cost?
Admission is free. Equipment, travel, accommodation and food are not included.
- Botball: An official set is necessary. Most equipment from previous years can be reused for a lower price. Ask for an order form and help choosing a package.
- Junior Botball: A loan may be available through a partner school. Ask about availability, collection and responsibility. Bring-your-own-robot is possible.
- Open: Bring your own platform; there are no hardware limits.
- Aerial Junior: Bring a permitted small autonomous drone. Previous rules suggested DJI Tello EDU and Crazyflie without requiring one exclusive model.
- Aerial Senior: Expect a custom drone project. Check the mission, safety and hardware rules before committing to a design.
Arrange accommodation and food with your team.
04 What does an ECER competition look like?
Explore a Botball match and interactive game table, or browse the archive for game documents, results and photos from past editions.
05 When are the rules and Call for Papers published?
Game documents and the Call for Papers are scheduled for January 2027. You can find them in the documents and papers & talks sections above.
06 Can we visit without competing?
Yes. Come and see student-built robots in action. Admission is free. Check the visitor guide for attendance and travel information, or get in touch about a group visit.
Prefer to write directly? ecer@eraa.at