TRC 2025: from the bottom to almost the top
Hey, I'm Rosas, currently doing a bachelor's in computer science, specializing in AI.
For the past six months, I've participated in a transformative experience that I'd like to share: the Tekbot Robotics Challenge 2025. I would have loved to write a novel about it, a complete story, because so much happened. But I'm just getting back into the habit of writing… let's take our time. I'll keep it simple :)
What is TRC 2025?
The Tekbot Robotics Challenge 2025 is the largest African university robotics and AI competition! It's a competition focused on solving major challenges faced by African societies in industrial, technological, and social fields using robotics and artificial intelligence. Check out this link for more info.
This year's edition theme was urban resilience or how to reinvent waste management.
Six months in total, two major phases, and a final in Cotonou. Nine teams gathered in Cotonou to present their work and compete for the trophy. More details on the official 2025 edition page.
But how did I get there?
I mentioned earlier that this was a university competition. So I applied to be part of the team that would represent my school. Everything happened so fast. I applied just a few minutes before the deadline and quickly found myself embarked on this exciting adventure, not yet fully realizing how big it was going to be.
The preliminaries
"What's going to make you cry starts by making you laugh."
The preliminary rounds consisted of three simple tests. The goal was to build our confidence and give us the foundations we needed to assert ourselves better.
At first, things were going fine and to be honest, these tests weren't that complicated but we had to juggle between the end of the academic year, an internship, and personal stuff. And back then, I was far from being as good at multitasking as I am today.
Three main IT tests:
- Object-oriented programming
- Introduction to ROS2
- Pathfinding algorithm
We finished 8th / 9. Although we could have done better, the scores don't reflect the work we put in but just the work we chose to present (the documentation :))
Check out our official documentation.
Problems identified after the preliminaries:
- Documentation issues: Poorly written or rushed documentation cost us important points.
- Test execution: We sometimes tried to do too much or overcomplicated things unnecessarily. We spent way more time thinking about what we should do than actually doing it and improving it.
- Discipline: We lacked consistency and discipline to complete tasks.
- Isolated team: It was a very busy period for everyone... we didn't collaborate, we worked in silos.
And so ends this first phase of TRC 25. It felt long, but it was enriching.
Even if the adventure had stopped there, I think we would have learned valuable lessons. But why stop there?
Here we go again!
Preparing for the Final
The goal was the same for the whole team: climb back from the bottom of the rankings to the podium. Difficult, but not impossible.
How to summarize?
You know the concept of collective intelligence? Well, that's exactly what it was. IT, electronics, mechanics: everyone had their say. We validated everything together. We followed each other's work. We helped each other out. And above all, everyone gave their best. It was magical. Hours spent working, joking around, brainstorming, testing endlessly, failing often, and finally succeeding together.
The goal of the competition was to design intelligent robots capable of efficiently collecting, sorting and transporting waste in the ten districts of a city named EcoCity, in order to simulate a sustainable sanitation system for African metropolises.
The Final
The final took place on January 17th at the EYA Community Center.
What a day! Our conveyor parts gave up on us, the robotic arm's camera was acting up like a ghost, and our mobile robot's work screen lost power. We really suffered!
We played 4 or 5 matches (my memory is a bit fuzzy) and we managed to reach the final. Unfortunately, we couldn't lift the trophy.
Conclusion
TRC 2025 was an adventure. A unique adventure, with a bittersweet ending, but ultimately magnificent. Only one team leaves with the trophy, but I remain convinced that, given what this competition has given us, we are all winners.
Before training young talents, future engineers, it's first and foremost about contributing to human growth. I learned so much. I collaborated with brilliant people. And in its own way, this competition transformed how I approach work, my vision of technology, and helped me understand the power of teamwork.
Advices
If I were asked to give advice to future participants, I would say:
Alone, we go faster, but together, we go further.
We fail by trying, we learn from our mistakes, and we succeed by learning.
"Document as you go" or better yet "Document everything!"
You have to keep believing, good things take time.
Be curious not to learn more, but to know better.
There are no limits that can prevent us from bringing about the change we want to see in this world.
May God keep us!
Thanks for reading this far. If you want to chat or just say hello, don't hesitate to contact me via email or on LinkedIn.