1. About WGG Robotics
WGG Robotics is the student robotics team of Willibald-Gluck-Gymnasium Neumarkt (Bavaria, Germany).
We design, build and program our own mobile robots and compete in RoboCup Rescue / Rapidly Manufactured Robot Challenge (RMRC) and other robotics events. Our team brings together students from different grades who enjoy engineering, coding and solving real-world problems with robots.
Mentors:
-
Tobias Wagner: As the team mentor, he helps with delivering and ordering the parts needed for our robot. He also provides useful advice and tips on how to assemble the robot. Our mentor also offers guidance when needed.
-
Christoph Gebhard: He is our mentor and looks after the group. He is always there to offer us advice and support.
-
Raffael Pöggel: Raffael supports both the software and hardware sections with his expertise and know-how.
-
Antonello Pastore: Antonello supports our team as an external mentor with a broad perspective on robotics as a whole, not just RoboCup. He regularly contributes fresh ideas and outside perspectives, helping to guide and further develop our projects.
Members:
-
Jonas Nicklas: As our programmer, he is responsible for a lot of the software work. He also helps the other team members by teaching and explaining how to code to them.
-
Florian Schäff: The 3D design of the robot's chassis is his primary focus. Furthermore he collaborates mainly with Lino to construct the robot.
-
Dalea Badri: Dalea is responsible for taking care of the logistics and organising the TDP. She also manages our social media account and oversees the team together with Fiona. Furthermore, she collaborates with Lino on designing team merchandise and logos.
-
Fiona Schäff: Fiona is in charge of logistics. She handles the TDP and oversees the entire team alongside Dalea. She is also responsible for our social media account. She always lends a hand if help is needed with the hardware.
-
Lino Odenbach: Lino's job involves working with Florian on the hardware and constructing the robot. Besides, he works with Dalea on the corporate design.
-
Christopher Zech: As he is both talented and interested in mathematics and programming, he focuses on all the informatics and mathematical aspects, as well as programming and software development. He works closely together with Jonas.
Our main topics are:
-
Rescue robots
Robots that can drive or walk through rough terrain, detect obstacles and support search-and-rescue scenarios. -
Mobile platforms
Rovers, quadrupeds and crawlers with different drive concepts. -
Autonomous navigation
Using sensors, mapping and planning so that robots can move on their own. -
Simulation & AI
Testing robots in virtual environments and experimenting with intelligent behaviour.
We usually work in small sub-teams, for example:
- Hardware & Mechanics – CAD design, 3D printing, assembly, mechanical concepts
- Electronics – wiring, power distribution, sensors, motor drivers
- Software & Control – microcontrollers, ROS 2, control algorithms, simulation
- Documentation & Media – writing guides, taking photos, maintaining this wiki
To plan our project properly, we used a Kanban board based on the Scrum method. Using this technique, we were able to allocate different tasks quickly and organise them according to our interests and strengths. As each thematic field is assigned to multiple members, everyone has the opportunity to discuss a problem or request assistance if needed. Students often change roles over time in order to learn new skills and gain an understanding of the robot as a whole.
Our way of working is project-based and hands-on:
-
Idea & requirements
We start with a challenge (for example a RoboCup task) and define what the robot must do. -
Design & planning
We sketch concepts, discuss different solutions and decide on a first design. -
Build & test
We build hardware, write software and test early, even if the robot is not perfect yet. -
Iterate & improve
We analyse what went wrong, fix problems and improve the design step by step. -
Document & share
We write down what we learned so future team members (and other schools) can reuse our work.
Mistakes are normal and important for learning, that’s why we try to see every failure as data and feedback.
Our journey began as members of the 'MintEx' course at the Willibald Gluck Gymnasium in Neumarkt, where we gained our first experience of working with Arduinos and constructing technical obstacles. After attending some workshops at the Technical University of Nuremberg (TH Nürnberg), we discovered the potential and enjoyment of building our own robot. After our first competitions, we were highly motivated to continuously improve the robot and always give our best. This is why we have developed different generations of our robots and participated in several workshops and competitions. We also collaborated with universities and companies to expand our knowledge and find solutions to our technical problems. Last year, in 2025, our group expanded due to our project seminar (a compulsory course with different topics at German schools). With this group, we also won an award for the best project seminar in Bavaria. After the seminar ended, however, our group reduced in size once again, although we did manage to retain some interested students. We are now a small group of motivated students who are proud of our journey and are really looking forward to participating in RoboCup 2026 in South Korea and meeting all the international teams.
This wiki is our place to collect that experience and make it easier for new students to join and continue our work.
We want to be:
- transparent – we want to share our process of building and programming our robots
- helpful – we want to give other student teams and schools the opportunity to learn from our ideas and mistakes
- open – we believe knowledge grows when it is shared
Many of our repositories are public, and this wiki is written in a way that students, teachers and interested partners can understand.
If you are a student at Willibald-Gluck-Gymnasium and want to join:
- Talk to the robotics mentor/teacher at school.
- Visit one of our meetings in the Makerspace.
- Choose an area that interests you (hardware, software, electronics, documentation…).
- Start with a small task and learn from older team members.
You do not need to know everything from the beginning. Curiosity, teamwork and patience are much more important.