Schoolchildren develop unmanned systems for "smart city" in NTO finals at Moscow Polytechnic University
The finals of the 11th season of the National Technology Olympiad in the "Autonomous Transport Systems" category concluded at Moscow Polytechnic University. Over 40 high school students from across Russia competed for victory, spending a week developing solutions for "smart city" logistics. The organizers created a special testing ground for students in grades 8–11 who are passionate about unmanned technology. The participants developed a seamless logistics system in which unmanned vehicles, robotic manipulators, and quadcopters operate as a single mechanism and deliver cargo autonomously.
At the testing ground, the teams built an intelligent transportation network for a smart city and developed a shared digital "brain" for three types of vehicles. In addition to engineering, the finalists solved problems in physics and computer science.
"They all work in a city that recently experienced an earthquake. Residents need to be evacuated, but the roads are littered with construction debris. Driverless vehicles must navigate to the evacuation point, pick up residents, and take them to safety. They must navigate through debris. A service center, which autonomously replaces frequently failing tires and a quadcopter, assists them with this. "The students write all the algorithms for the devices themselves," noted Vasily Belkin, Technical Director of the Academy of High Technologies.
"We came to the Olympiad to gain practical skills, learn how to work with equipment and algorithms, and solve complex applied problems. We have very good impressions of Moscow Polytechnic University! We are interested in technical fields, engineering, and mechanics, so we plan to earn extra credits and apply," shared Valentin Isaev and Daniil Stoyko, students from Makeyevka (DPR).
The final competition of the 11th season of the National Technology Olympiad will also be held in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Tyumen, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Kostroma, Kazan, and Ufa. Pre-registration is now open for those interested in participating in the next season of the National Technology Olympiad; the competition itself will begin in the fall of 2026.
Note: This profile is organized by Moscow Polytechnic University in partnership with the Academy of High Technologies, Geoscan, MIREA — Russian Technological University, and Moscow University of Finance and Law. The National Technology Olympiad is Russia's largest team engineering competition for talented schoolchildren and students. Over its 11 years, the National Technology Olympiad has brought together over one million schoolchildren and students from all regions of Russia and 77 countries. A total of 226,000 people from across Russia, as well as from abroad, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan, have submitted applications to participate in the 2025–2026 competition. The National Technology Olympiad for schoolchildren in grades 8–11 is coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Presidential Platform "Russia – Country of Opportunities" as part of the national project "Youth and Children," and with the support of the Movement of the First, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, and the NTI Platform.
