A joint team from the two Osnabrück universities prevails in the International Field Robot Competition 2026 and wins the second world championship title in a row.
The Acorn field robot made in Osnabrück has a particularly narrow lane and can reliably detect both sick plants and insects. Copyright: DLG
Navigating precisely in the corn field, treating the soil in a targeted manner and correctly identifying animal species and diseased plants in the field – these were the tasks that autonomous field robots took on at this year’s field robot event. The Acorn team from the Osnabrück robot club Osnabotics took overall victory.
World champions from Osnabrück – for the second time in a row
The winning team includes 22 students and doctoral candidates from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and the University of Osnabrück. They won four of the five disciplines and thus defended their world championship title from the previous year. Second place went to the Robatic Bullseye team from Wageningen University (Netherlands), third place went to the FREDT team from TU Braunschweig.
World champions again: Team Acorn from the Osnabrück robot club Osnabotics has once again won overall victory at this year’s field robot event after its success in 2025. Copyright: DLG
16 teams from ten countries
At the international field robot event, university teams compete against each other with their self-developed robots. This year’s competition brought 16 teams together at the International DLG Plant Growing Center in Bernburg (Saxony-Anhalt) during the DLG Field Days. 135 participants from China, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey demonstrated their technical skills, team spirit and creativity. In mostly sunny weather with a pleasant 25 degrees, different disciplines were on the program for four days, and the teams spent the night at the trade fair campsite nearby. In the few free hours at the trade fair, participants were able to devote themselves to their personal interests.
Two winning robots made in Osnabrück
The Osnabrück team has been preparing for the competition in June since March. For this purpose, Andreas Klaas, Arthur Schreiber, Fabian Buitkamp, Frederik Hartmann, Isaak Ihorst, Jan Carstens, Jannik Jose, Julian Kronenberg, Justus Braun, Justus Klingner, Lena Schötker, Luca Otto, Malte Klöpping, Natalie Puls, Nico Thiessen, Philipp Gehricke, Philipp Schein, Philipp Schlinge, Simon Balzer and Marco Tassemeier independently developed, built, programmed and tested two robots. The focus was primarily on stabilizing navigation and the first integration of a fully autonomous robot arm on a moving platform – a big step in the complexity of the robot.
“Acorn has a particularly narrow lane and a 3D laser scanner that distinguishes the free lane from the plants. In addition, with two depth cameras mounted on the side, it can reliably detect both diseased plants and insects,” says student team captain Fabian Buitkamp, who is studying for a master’s degree in computer science at the university.
The second Osnabrück field robot, Bcorn, is specially equipped for soil treatment: It carries a precise robot arm with a drill. A depth camera on the arm ensures the exact positioning of the drill, while the all-round view of the 270-degree camera ensures that the markings can be found quickly.
Team supervisor: “Promising future of field robotics in Osnabrück”
“What was particularly striking to me this year was our commitment to the competition,” says Christopher Sieh. The doctoral candidate and research assistant at the University of Osnabrück supervised the winning team together with his university colleague Eduard Gode: “While other teams had problems finding participants, our team continued to grow, which suggests a promising future for field robotics in Osnabrück and the surrounding area.” It is precisely this combination of veterans and new students that enabled the team to build complex systems in a very short time, while new ideas were constantly incorporated. That’s why Christopher Sieh is very pleased that all participants contributed their part to the victory and were able to significantly deepen the knowledge they learned from their studies: “Especially in robotics, experience is a very important part that can hardly be conveyed through lectures or exercises.”
Students: “Rehearsed team, functioning robot and valuable exchange”
Students also confirm this: “It was fun to be confronted with spontaneous problems and to solve them with other people within a limited time frame,” says Justus Klingner, master’s student in business information technology at the university: “Successful participation requires much more than just having a functioning robot. A well-coordinated team and trust in one another are prerequisites for success.”
The Osnabrück robot Bcorn is specially equipped for soil treatment and has a robot arm that works precisely even while driving. Copyright DLG
Natalie Puls, a bachelor’s student in agricultural systems technologies at the university, sees it similarly: “It was my first time there and I learned how important it is not to lose sight of the fun – especially under time pressure. The excitement during the individual tasks in the competition, the excitement of whether everything will work out, but of course also the exchange with the other teams – that’s what I enjoyed most.”
Dedicated club looks after the successful team
Last year, after winning the competition in Milan, the world champion team announced that they would be setting up their own club. It has now become reality: In autumn 2025, Osnabotics e. V. was founded, which has since taken over the support of the team. The association includes students, alumni, researchers and practical partners in the field of robotics. The aim of the association is to organize joint development projects, coordinate participation in competitions and permanently structure professional exchange in the region.
Students from both universities from all disciplines are welcome in the association. Simply being interested in robotics is enough to get started. “We also have topics outside of engineering courses – such as media work or project planning,” says Christopher Sieh. Anyone interested can contact the association via the email address (email protected).
Thanks to the supporters
The Osnabrück team would like to thank AMAZONEN-WERKEN H. DREYER SE & Co. KG, Allied Vision Technologies GmbH, Nature Robots GmbH, iotech GmbH and other donors for their support. Financing the trip and the participation fees was only possible thanks to their commitment.
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