RoboCupJunior is a project-oriented educational initiative that sponsors local, regional and international robotic events for young students.
It is designed to introduce RoboCup to primary and secondary school children, as well as undergraduates who do not have the resources to get involved in the senior leagues. The focus in the Junior league is on education.

RoboCupJunior offers several challenges, each emphasizing both cooperative and competitive aspects. For children, the Junior initiative provides an exciting introduction to the field of robotics, a new way to develop technical abilities through hands-on experience with electronics, hardware and software, and a highly motivating opportunity to learn about teamwork while sharing technology with friends. In contrast to the one-child-one-computer scenario typically seen today, RoboCupJunior provides a unique opportunity for participants with a variety of interests and strengths to work together as a team to achieve a common goal.

Three challenges have been developed:

soccer
2-on-2 teams of autonomous mobile robots play games in a rectangular field color-coded in shades of grey

dance
one or more robots perform to music, in a display that emphasizes creativity of costume and movement

rescue
robots race to rescue victims from artificial disaster scenarios, varying in complexity from line-following on a flat surface to negotiating paths through obstacles on uneven terrain

RoboCupJunior 2002

RoboCupJunior 2001 Seattle