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No. All the team members must be from a same institute. If your university has multiple institutions then,
each institution can send one team.
Refer to the section “Participating Teams” in the rule book IRoC-U 2026.
Only one team from each institute is permitted to participate in the contest. It is the responsibility of the institute to select the team based on their established criteria. Furthermore, the chosen team must secure an endorsement from the head of the institution, confirming that they are the sole representatives for their institute in the competition. If more than one entry is found from any institute, the first submitted proposal shall be entertained for the further rounds and the remaining proposals shall be rejected.
The competition is open only for Indian students, studying in Indian institutes recognized by AICTE / UGC.
Yes, it is mandatory to be pursuing under-graduation /post-graduation/research student from any recognized Indian institute.
The team should consist a minimum of 3 members and a maximum of 10 members excluding mentors. They must all be studying from the same Institute.
No, the event is open for students pursuing (full time and non-sponsored) under graduation/post-graduation/research.
All teams must complete the registration process on the website. The registration procedure includes:
- Team login account creation.
- Filling out the team details and download auto-generated registration form.
- Download registration form and get it duly certified by the Head of the institute.
- Upload the softcopy of the certified registration form along with the proposal in .pdf format (Proposal can be of maximum pages:20 with the file size limited to 15 MB).
The final proposal report needs to be submitted by 23:59 hrs (IST) 12th January, 2026..
The team should consist of minimum of 3 members and maximum of 10 members excluding mentors.
There is no payment required to participate in the challenge.
Any type of RF communication with ASCEND can be used or built. Hence, Wi-Fi communication also can be used.
There are no specific dimension requirements from IRoC-U 2026 perspective, but the team should consider the feasibility of the demonstration with arena size defined in the web portal.
GPS modules cannot be used in the contest.
The area enclosed by the yellow border (including the yellow border) is referred to as the arena.
Camera can be used as payload or sensor. Any type of suitable camera can be selected. However, ensure that, the overall weight of the ASCEND shall not exceed 2 kg.
Open-source drone firmware can be used. Team can modify/tweak the firmware to implement navigation algorithms indigenously developed by the team.
In this context, “indigenous” means developed by contestants.
ASCEND has to work in flight mode at least for 5 minutes (typical) or till it completes all the tasks.
Yes, layout for elimination round will be provided (like in last year).
Emergency call off mode is more essentially required during flight mode and hence must be able to receive commands during any abnormal behaviour of the flying craft. Once it receives the command, it must gradually descend and land. ASCEND should be hard-coded with SAFE mode as per the rule book. In case if ASCEND is not able to switch to safe mode, the same shall be achieved by sending a command through a physical button on base station or by sending a command from the base station.
One internal and external mentor is permitted for the contest. After registration, neither modification of team nor inclusion of mentor/team members is allowed.
No. All the team members must be from a same institute. If your university has multiple institutions then, each institution can send one team.
Yes, teams may use base station / remote pc for data processing. But during the tasks of the challenge, no manual intervention is allowed.
The arena described by IRoC-U 2026 may or may not be identical to the Mars terrain in all aspects. Hence, we cannot guarantee the proposed method will work on the described arena.
There are no obstacles above 3 m from the mean surface of arena.
The team can use flight controllers available in market. Open-source drone firmware can be used. However, team can modify/tweak the firmware to implement navigation algorithms indigenously developed by the team. The teams are not allowed to preload any arena details/map before the flight during the challenge. Arena scanning, mapping, identification and navigation is to be done in real time during the challenge.
The maximum height of flight or hovering is limited to 10 m. However, the exact height will be provided after the announcement of arena details. ASCEND can hover at heights between 3 m to the maximum height allowed.
ASCEND overall weight including all flight elements (including battery) must be less than or equal to 2 kg.
Sensors like, LIDAR, Optical flow, Distance sensors on-board are allowed on ASCEND.
Pseudolite and reflector arrays are not allowed in the arena (as they are not available on the Martian surface). IRoC-U 2026 challenge is to develop navigation techniques under similar conditions.
Teams should strictly follow and adhere to the General rules and regulations detailed in IRoC-U Rule book. Teams may receive sponsorship and display sponsor logos under the following conditions:
- Placement Restrictions: Sponsor logos are not permitted on the ASCEND.
- Approved Usage: Logos may only be featured on apparel, such as T-shirts, caps, and similar wearable items.
- Advertising Limitations: Sponsors are prohibited from displaying banners or engaging in promotional advertising related to the Challenge. Violations of these terms may result in disqualification or other appropriate penalties/actions.
Addition or removal or replacement of team member is not allowed after registration date.
Yes, subjected to proper reasoning. The same may be brought to notice of IRoC-U 2026 organizing team.
Yes. The teams need to build the suggested arena in their college premises. The details will be provided for teams who enter qualification rounds.
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