engineering

Zero Robotics

Zero Robotics is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Zero Robotics rather than just read about it. In short: Zero Robotics is an international high school programming competition where students control robotic SPHERES (Synchronised Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) aboard the International Space Station. Each year teams of students work to produce code capable of performing in a game that can be deployed on the SPHERES.

Key takeaways

Zero Robotics belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Zero Robotics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Zero Robotics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Zero Robotics is an international high school programming competition where students control robotic SPHERES (Synchronised Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) aboard the International Space Station. Each year teams of students work to produce code capable of performing in a game that can be deployed on the SPHERES. This game generally contains elements such as docking with objects, moving objects, and destroying targets within a bounded area while monitoring fuel usage. Initial stages of the competition occur online (with virtual SPHERES) with free team registration in the United States, Australia and for ESA member countries and limited registration for international teams. Teams are traditionally monitored by adult mentors and code submitted through the MIT website. Finalists compete in a live championship aboard the ISS. An astronaut conducts the final competition while communicating to teams through a live feed.

History The Zero Robotics competition was created by NASA Astronaut Gregory Chamitoff when he was working with the SPHERES and realised that the coding interface would be suitable for high school students. Drawing inspiration from FIRST Robotics, Zero Robotics became a competition that emphasised building science, technology, engineering, and maths skills with a component of cooperation between schools and nations. Its inaugural competition was held in 2009, expansion to the entire US in 2010 and internationally in 2013. It currently includes schools from the US, Russia, ESA affiliated states and Australia.

Tournaments The Zero Robotics competition is divided into two types of tournaments.

High School Tournament: Among students aged between 14 and 18 years. The tournament takes place between September and December each year. This is an international event open to teams from the USA, Australia, Russia, ESA member states and select international teams. Middle School Summer Program. This is dedicated to younger students. It is a five-week program in which students learn to program through a simplified graphical interface. The program will take place in locations "to be determined" based on where there is a strong geographic presence of the team members. Additionally some countries, notably Australia and Italy, choose to hold preliminary competitions to fit better into the school year and/or filter the schools going onto the International Competition.

Objectives of tournaments Participants compete together to win a technically challenging game, motivated by a problem of current interest to DARPA, NASA and MIT. Depending on the challenge, students must program their satellites to complete certain objectives (to avoid obstacles, collect virtual objects, destroy targets, etc.) while preserving the primary resources (fuel, energy charges, etc.) and complete the challenge within certain limits of time and space for writing code. The student's software must be able to control factors such as the speed of the satellite, the rotation, the direction of travel, and many others, to be able to find the perfect algorithm to achieve the purpose and meet the challenges in the shortest possible time than their opponents. The difficulty lies in the fact that the programs are autonomous in the sense that submitted code will last for the duration of the competition (and across multiple matches) and you can not control or modify their execution. Additionally there is a limit on the programmable memory of the SPHERES, limiting the available coding practices.

Physics Participants in Zero Robotics are encouraged to learn and/or improve their knowledge related to basic physics, since optimal algorithms require precise control over forces influencing the speed of the SPHERES. However, students report that "good results [can be obtained] by working exclusively through imposition of the satellite coordinates".

Programming Participants in the challenge Zero Robotics learn to program in either C / C++, or MATLAB, or (in the middle school competition) Scratch. Within these languages there are different APIs to enforce the main parameters of the movements of the satellite. A specialised IDE is offered online on the official website of the competition where students are able submit and save their code.

Past Winners High School Tournament 2025 Lost in Space Finals 1. Team: Quark Charm

Storming Robots, Branchburg, NJ, USA 2018 ECO-SPHERES ISS Finals 1. Alliance: Naughty Dark Spaghetti

The Dark Team of LSA, IIS "Avogadro" - Liceo Scientifico, Italy Stuy-Naught, Stuyvesant High School, NY, USA Spaghetti Code, Cedarburg High School, WI, USA 2. Alliance: Hit or Miss

Proof Robotics, Proof School, CA, USA Crab Nebula, Liceo Cecioni, Italy Rock Rovers, Council Rock High School South, PA, USA 2018 ECO-SPHERES Virtual Finals Alliance: NoSleepGang

Valak, Colegiul National ”Octavian Goga” Sibiu, Romania SpaceXD, Parramatta High School, Australia Scholar Spacemen, Sydney Boys High School, Australia 2017 LifeSphere ISS Finals 2016 SpaceSpheres ISS Finals 2015 SpySpheres ISS Finals 2014 CoronaSphere ISS Finals Alliance: LakeElevenVADARS

Team Lake, Clear Lake High School, TX, USA Corà's Eleven Liceo G.B.Brocchi, Italy VADARS South Charleston High School, WV, USA 2013 CosmoSPHERES ISS Finals Alliance: y0b0tics! Gru Eagle

y0b0tics!, NJ The Grew Cru, TX Cosmic Eagles, MA 2012 RetroSPHERES ISS Finals Alliance: Mira Loma

Mira Loma Matadors, CA y0b0tics!, NJ Green Wrenches, WA 2011 AsteroSPHERES ISS Finals Alliance: Rocket

River Hill High School, MD Storming Robots, NJ Rock ledge High School, FL

Past Winners High School Tournament (EU) 2013 CosmoSPHERES ISS Finals Alliance: C.O.F.F.E.E.

Sunday Programmers, Italy Nemesis Colegio Retamar, Spain Hello World American, France 2012 RetroSPHERES ISS Finals Alliance B.E.E.R.

Kathe in Space, Germany Sunday Programmers, Italy Herder-Berlin, Germany

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Zero Robotics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Zero Robotics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Zero Robotics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Zero Robotics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Zero Robotics

In research: Zero Robotics appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Zero Robotics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Zero Robotics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Annual events, Programming contests, Robotics competitions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Zero Robotics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Zero Robotics” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Zero Robotics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Zero Robotics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Zero Robotics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zero Robotics in simple terms?

Why does Zero Robotics matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Zero Robotics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Zero Robotics.