A.S.D. I Robottari promotes the sport of combat robots in Italy, organizing regular tournament seasons and helping new members and future pilots design and build their own robots.
Training
We organize regular courses and intensive workshops for our members in the disciplines that revolve around this sport: 3D Modeling and 3D Printing, Electronics and Programming.
The courses are modular to be suitable for students from high school to retirement!
Game tournaments
For two years, we've been organizing monthly tournaments for non-destructive robots. They're hosted at gaming pubs throughout the capital, allowing everyone to experience the thrill of driving one of our rental robots!
Full combat
We know that when we talk about this sport, rotating blades and flamethrowers come to mind!
We've already started organizing and supporting the first destructive events in Italy, and as the community grows, we'll be able to do more and more!
OUR STORY
When Paolo Di Gregorio Zitella designed his first 3D-printed combat robot in 2015, he had in mind the TV shows Robot Wars and Battlebots of his childhood.
Nothing like this exists in Italy. No one has ever attempted to create a community and regular events for this hobby/sport, modeled on other international realities, especially English-speaking ones.
Thanks to the support of Studio 5T, the Robot Arena Challenge project was launched in 2020. Small plastic robots are the ultimate goal of the training courses in 3D Modeling and 3D Printing, Programming and Electronics offered to schools and universities. In 2022, the first RAC course was held at the Luiss 42 Enlabs headquarters in Rome, following which the first official tournament in the 175g antweight educational category was held.
Also participating in that tournament was Matteo De Gregori, an animatronics designer who would later lead Paolo into film industry. He also built the new tournament arena, designed for easy transport and assembly. The same arena will be used by Robot Arena Challenge at Maker Faire Rome 2023, a huge success.
Starting that December, Paolo and Matteo began a monthly tournament tour for gaming pubs and playrooms in the capital, effectively giving life to the first regular combat robotics league in Italy.
The community that develops around these events begins to grow. The first regular pilots arrive, and after competing several times with rental robots, they manage to build their own personal robots.
Robot Arena Challenge is also starting to gain international recognition, with its events included in the European calendar curated by Bristol Bot Builders (UK), and is supporting other Italian companies taking their first steps. Three robots from the RAC team join in the first Italian 300g destructive tournament, held in Sovramonte, Veneto.
The I Robottari Amateur Sports Association, officially founded in July 2025, was created to give the project an independent legal identity, allowing it to grow, organize courses and events, and promote combat robots as a sport in Italy.
