UBC students race against time to save pets from burning building

Date/Time: Thursday, August 7, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

Location:  Room 100, Hebb Building, 2045 East Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z1 (map)

Parking: North Parkade, 6115 Student Union Boulevard V6T 1Z1 (map)

Fifteen teams of engineering physics students have worked through the summer to build fully autonomous robots from scratch. On August 7, these robots will race against the clock to save as many pets as possible from a collapsing animal hospital.

Flames are high, some pets are hiding in fear, and escape routes are unpredictable. Each robot must independently detect animals, avoid obstacles like fallen beams, and navigate challenging terrain — all without human control.

Robots follow a taped path through the building and must locate magnetic plush toys (the “pets”) and deliver them to a designated safe zone. Pets can be rescued in multiple ways: carried through the front door, tossed out a window, dropped down a construction chute, or even zipped down a line to safety.

Each team gets two minutes to score as many points as possible: one point per pet saved.

Robots use a variety of sensors to complete their missions, including reflectance sensors, sonar and infrared, and every robot is a custom build: programmed, wired and assembled by students over the past 10 weeks.

“The students have been averaging about 12 hours per day in the lab and it’s incredible to see the progress they’ve made,” says Dylan Gunn, director of UBC’s Engineering Physics Project Lab. “For some of them, this is the first time they’ve used hand tools, and now they’ve built a fully autonomous machine that can interact with the world. This is the start of a practical and theoretical skill set that will carry them through to working careers at the forefront of technology. Our students go on to work in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, spacecraft design and biotech — all fields that require a deep understanding of physics combined with practical engineering skills.”

More info: competition rules