Kazakhstani robotics team wins special award at ABU Robocon 2026 in Hong Kong

The competition brought together university teams from 21 countries. The Mabuchi Motor Award recognizes teams for the originality of their engineering solutions, the quality of their mechanical design and the effective integration of mechanical, electronic and software components.

Kazakhstan’s participation in ABU Robocon 2026 marked the country’s return to the international championship after a seven-year break. This year, the national selection and formation of the country’s team were organized by the USTEM Foundation.

The national qualifying stage was held on July 1 as part of the Almaty Tech Cup. Following the competition, the BULAN team from Nazarbayev University emerged as the winner and earned the right to represent Kazakhstan at the international final in Hong Kong.

The national team consisted of 28 students specializing in areas including mechanical engineering, electronics, programming, design and project management. Organizers said the interdisciplinary approach helped combine engineering and digital expertise in developing and preparing the team’s robotic solutions.

Kazakhstan was represented at the international stage by Meirzhan Tazdarbay, Temirlan Amangeldy, Aimedet Taufik, Farshed Ibrokhimov and Dastan Musrepov.

The Mabuchi Motor Award was established by Japanese company Mabuchi Motor, a manufacturer of small electric motors. The award recognizes teams that demonstrate innovative design approaches, strong mechanical engineering skills and comprehensive use of technological solutions.

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education said the Kazakhstani team’s performance at ABU Robocon 2026 demonstrates the growing potential of student engineering and robotics in Kazakhstan.

Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan won 23 awards at the FIRST LEGO League Asia Open Championship in Beijing.