Competition Guide: Which Robotics Competitions Allow MBC Sensors?

Not every robotics competition allows third-party sensors. This page lists competitions in Taiwan, Asia and worldwide that are open to other brands, checks each one against its official rules, and shows which MBC products you can use. Last checked: 2026-10-14.

Important

This page is based on the 2026 rules. Most Taiwan events for 2026 have already taken place, and we will update the page when the 2027 rules are published. Rules change every year, so always check the organizer's latest rules before you register. For items marked ⚠️, ask the organizer first.

At a Glance: Products × Competitions

✅ Allowed　⚠️ Ask the organizer　❌ Not allowed

¹ One camera per robot　² Cameras in Junior and Senior only　³ For remote-control events　Servo6 = MBC Servo6 6-Port Servo Expander (for LEGO® SPIKE™) (coming soon; treated like EXP6: a programmable expansion device, servos count as motors)　⁴ Ranger 8-Way: Elementary and Junior teams should check with the organizer first

Pathfinder = 8 / 16-way line sensor, Ranger = 2 / 8-way laser ranging, Vision = SharpShot Vision camera sensor, EXP6 = MBC EXP6 6-Port Motor Expander (for LEGO® SPIKE™ Prime; Robot Inventor with App Python only), Controller = PS4/PS5 receiver.

Worldwide

WRO Future Engineers

A self-driving car challenge for high-school students and older: build a car that drives itself around a randomly configured track. Teams choose their own hardware, electronics, controllers and programming language, within the technical rules. Ranger works well for wall detection and SharpShot Vision for recognizing the red and green traffic signs.

Official information: WRO Association

WRO RoboMission

Open to any brand since 2025, but cameras are allowed only in the Junior and Senior categories, and lasers need an eye-safety statement. See the full WRO Rules Check.

Robofest

An international competition run by Lawrence Technological University (LTU), with the World Championship held in the USA every May. Robots must be fully autonomous and programmed from scratch by the team. Any small robot platform and any programming language are allowed.

Official information: Robofest

RoboCupJunior

The youth leagues of RoboCup. The 2026 world championship is in Incheon, Korea, with regional events such as RoboCup Asia-Pacific. Platforms are open, but the Rescue rules ban commercial modules designed or marketed to solve a single primary task ("task-solvers"). Ready-made line-following modules fall into this group, so Pathfinder cannot be used in Rescue Line. Ranger and SharpShot Vision are general-purpose sensors, but the organizer decides, so ask first.

Official information: RoboCupJunior

Robotex International

An international robotics festival from Estonia, held in Seoul, Korea for the first time in 2026. National qualifiers run both LEGO and custom-robot categories (line following, sumo and more). Categories and hardware rules differ by country, so check your national rules.

Official information: Robotex International

Taiwan

AERC (Taiwan)

The Asia Educational Robot Competition (亞洲智慧型機器人大賽), held for the 38th time in 2026, runs three venues in Taichung, Taoyuan and Tainan for primary school through university.

• Group A (LEGO): LEGO® (including SPIKE™) controllers, sensors and motors only, but the rules name "MBC Pathfinder – LEGO edition" as an allowed sensor, together with Mindsensors and HiTechnic.
• Group D (any brand): Any brand of components, as long as the event rules are met. All MBC products can be used.
• Matching events: line following (Pathfinder), programmed obstacle avoidance (Ranger), remote-controlled obstacle avoidance (Controller, Group D) and AI vision line following (SharpShot Vision, Group D).

Official information: AERC website｜2026 rules (Chinese)

GRG (Global Robotics Games) Taiwan

Organized in Taiwan by the Taiwan Smart Programming AI Robotics & Knowledge Association (SPARK). Hardware rules differ by category:

• AI Maker Series: Any building materials and any controller (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, SPIKE™ Prime and more), and more than one controller is allowed. One camera maximum; primary-school teams must use block-based coding. Cars pre-programmed by the manufacturer to follow a line or route are not allowed.
• Open Category: Project-based, no hardware restriction (24 V maximum).
• Mobile Robotics 1–3: Official LEGO® parts only, so MBC products cannot be used.
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be off during matches; no remote control.

Official information: GRG Taiwan

MRC (Minoan Robotsports Competition) Taiwan

The Taiwan qualifier, organized by SPARK, has more than 20 robot sports such as soccer, hockey, sumo and marathon, many of them remote-controlled.

• The original controller of an educational kit (LEGO, mBot, Maqueen and others) must be used.
• Third-party sensors are allowed if they are electrically compatible with the controller and unmodified. Pathfinder, Ranger and SharpShot Vision can all be used.
• Why SharpShot Vision and the Controller are allowed: the ban on added microcontrollers such as Arduino or ESP32 stops teams from controlling the robot with a second control board. SharpShot Vision and the Controller are a sensor and a remote receiver, and the robot is still controlled by the educational kit's hub, so they can be used (as explained by the Taiwan organizer).
• Remote-control events: The Controller can be used.
• Not allowed: programmable expansion units and independent power sources, so EXP6 cannot be used.

Official information: MRC Taiwan

JBC (Junior Botball Challenge) Taiwan

Organized in Taiwan by SPARK. JBC has always been open to any robot platform: bring your own kit and follow the parts rules for your level. Robots run autonomously, so the Controller is not used.

Official information: JBC Taiwan

Competitions Where MBC Sensors Cannot Be Used

Your Competition Isn't Listed?

Email contactmbcrobot@gmail.com or message us on LINE with the competition name and category, and our engineers will check the rules for you. We can also provide a laser eye-safety statement for the Ranger sensors.