The Loma Linda Adventist School robotics club in the Galápagos Islands, Galápagos, Ecuador, won first place at the 2026 International Robot Olympiad (IRO) Ecuador Open—a national robotics and artificial intelligence competition held in Guayaquil—on October 1–2. The team presented GALA-BOT, a humanoid robot designed to answer questions and share information about the archipelago
The competition brought together students from various educational institutions across the country and is part of the IRO circuit, which promotes the development of robotics and technology skills through hands-on learning.
GALA-BOT was designed as an interactive guide that provides information on the biodiversity and history of the Galápagos Islands. Students combined programming, electronics, artificial intelligence, and robotic movement systems to develop the prototype.
Photo: South American Division
Photo: South American Division
Photo: South American Division
Photo: South American Division
Photo: South American Division
The robot combines voice recognition and computer vision, technologies that enable GALA-BOT to interact with people and process information from its environment. The robot aims to leverage these tools to bring knowledge of the islands closer to locals and visitors.
After winning first place, the robotics club team plans to improve GALA-BOT's structure and continue developing their technological capabilities.
The team plans to participate in Mostratec Liberato, a science and technology fair held in Brazil.
The original article was published on the South American Division news site.
