We're running with the robots this year
On 6 September, robots will be running alongside us at Błonia Park in Kraków. The first edition of the ROBOT RUN will begin at 12.30 pm, featuring humanoid and quadrupedal robots competing against one another. The programme includes slalom courses and a 100-metre race. We’ll see how the robots cope with changing direction, maintaining balance and the pressure of time. It’ll be a sporting and technological event, and certainly very spectacular, even if not everything goes according to code.
We’ll start with a presentation of all the robots, their operators and teams. The competitors will also take a symbolic oath inspired by Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics. After that, it’ll be all about technology, precision and sporting excitement.
ROBOT RUN 2026 Programme:
- 12:30 – official opening of the competition
Presentation of the robots and the teams they represent, followed by the competitors’ symbolic oath.
- 13:00 – 100-metre humanoid robot slalom
The robots will navigate a course between cones, make a U-turn and return to the finish line. Speed, precision and stability will be key.
- 13:30 – 100-metre quadruped robot slalom
This time, mechanical quadrupeds will take to the course. We’ll see which of them copes best with changes of direction.
- 14:00 – 100-metre humanoid robot race
The main event of the competition: 50 metres, a U-turn and a return to the finish line. The fastest time wins.
- 14:30 – awards ceremony
Medals, certificates and trophies for the best robots and their teams.
The times for individual events are approximate and may change slightly depending on the number of competing robots, the weather and how the competition unfolds.
Have a robot? Enter it into the competition
Companies, universities, schools, laboratories, student research societies and research teams – as well as private individuals – can take part in the ROBOT RUN. So if you have a humanoid or four-legged robot sitting in your office, workshop or garage, it could be on the Błonia on 6 September. It doesn’t have to operate completely autonomously – it can be semi-autonomous or controlled by an operator.
The robots are set to provide us with plenty of fun, but they’ll be running for the same reason as the other participants in the Poland Business Run – to help.
The entry fee takes the form of a donation of at least 100 zł and goes directly to the Poland Business Run Foundation. You can, of course, donate more. The funds raised will be used to help people with mobility impairments, amputees and mastectomy survivors.
You can register your robot via the form on the website robotrun.pl/rejestracja
The ROBOT RUN is organised by the Science & Technology Film Festival.
