Lithuanian robotics team Android, represented at the tournament by Dainius and Andrius Užusenis, has won the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition in Portugal. The team also secured the Winning Alliance title and received the prestigious Control Award, which recognises excellence in robot control, programming and autonomous performance.
Held in Lisbon on 18 July, the tournament brought together 12 teams from seven European countries: Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. It was the first official FTC tournament to be staged in Portugal, marking an important step in the expansion of one of the world’s largest youth robotics programmes into another European country.
The Lithuanian team won every match in the competition. Its ability to adapt its strategy to different opponents and game situations proved decisive in securing the overall victory.
For Dainius and Andrius Užusenis, the result marks another major milestone in international robotics. Team Android had already won FTC competitions in Lithuania and Poland and has now added Portugal to its list of achievements.
At the 2026 FTC World Championship in Houston, Android achieved the highest score ever recorded by a Lithuanian team in the country’s history of participation in FTC competitions.
Dainius Užusenis has also represented Lithuania in the international FIRST Global Challenge, winning first place in Geneva and second place in Panama.
Following the tournament in Portugal, the Dutch FTC community invited Dainius Užusenis, who will begin his studies at Eindhoven University of Technology this autumn, to advise local teams. The invitation is further recognition that the Lithuanian team’s expertise is valued not only in competition, but across the wider international FTC community.
Portugal’s first official FTC tournament was organised by the Portuguese organisation RAISEBOX in partnership with Team Thunderstruck. According to Luís António, President of the event and founder and director of RAISEBOX, preparations for the country’s first FTC tournament had taken several years.
“From our own experience, we know that competitive robotics changes the way young people engage with technology, particularly artificial intelligence. The Lisbon tournament is the seed of the robotics ecosystem we want to build in our country. We are not only building robots – we are building young people’s futures,” said Luís António.
In FTC competitions, the highest-ranked teams following the qualification rounds select their own alliance partners for the knockout stage. This year, Android earned the first choice and selected a Portuguese team to join its alliance.
The Lithuanian team had made a similar decision at an earlier FTC competition in Poland, where it received a Gracious Professionalism commendation from the organisers for its professionalism, support for other teams and respectful collaboration.
“Winning the first FTC tournament held in Portugal was particularly special. We are delighted not only with the result, but also with the opportunity to contribute to the development of a new robotics community in Europe. When we were given the first choice of alliance partner, we selected a Portuguese team. We know how much motivation comes from having the chance to compete in a final in your own country,” said team captain Dainius Užusenis.
Team member Andrius Užusenis emphasised that international competitions provide valuable opportunities for continuous improvement.
“International competitions allow us not only to test our technical solutions, but also to learn from the world’s strongest teams and develop strategies for a wide range of game situations. In an alliance, teams often have different levels of experience and preparation, so the ability to adapt is essential. Every tournament gives us valuable insights that help us build better robots and refine our game strategy,” he said.
Android received the Control Award for its advanced autonomous control solutions.
Before announcing the winner, Luís António highlighted the Lithuanian team’s autonomous programming and unique targeting system.
“Some robots race and others score points, but this one demonstrated just how smoothly an autonomous mode can operate. Its exceptionally executed autonomous programme and unique automatic targeting system made it impossible to look away – the robot could launch three balls at the target in just half a second. And here is a clue: the team’s name may make Apple users slightly jealous. Congratulations to Team 25963 – ANDROID.”
The FIRST Tech Challenge is one of the world’s largest robotics competitions for secondary-school students. Over several months, teams design, build and programme a robot to complete a new set of challenges introduced for each competition season.
The robots compete on a 3.6 × 3.6-metre playing field. Success depends not only on engineering and programming, but also on strategy, team preparation and the ability to work effectively with alliance partners.
As a new challenge is announced each year, teams must design and build an entirely new robot every season. Each victory is therefore the result of months of design, construction, programming, testing and strategic preparation.
The team expressed its gratitude to Vilnius City Municipality for its continued investment in young talent, its support for robotics initiatives and the opportunities it creates for Vilnius students to participate in international competitions.
