Leeds PhD student and former Robot Wars contestant notches top ten finish on global stage
A Leeds PhD student and former Robot Wars finalist has once again found success on the international stage, finishing in the top ten against elite international teams.
Alex Brown, a former Mechatronics and Robotics graduate from the University who is now a doctoral researcher in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering as part of the STORM Lab, took to the global stage with his robot, TR4, to once again prove himself as one of the UK’s most accomplished combat robotics engineers.
Alex competed as part of a UK team at The Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025, where he participated in the “Battle of Robots” discipline, which the organisers define as a Tech Sport, combining physical engineering with careful control and a strong focus on competitive strategy.
The Games of the Future, which took place from 18–23 December 2025 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), spanned eight exhibition halls and brought together competitors from both physical sports and esports. Battle of Robots was one of the event’s most technically demanding disciplines, and Brown’s team finished inside the top 10, in a packed field featuring experienced teams from across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
“Competing in the sport on an international level against some of the best engineers in the world was a huge honour, and one I feel very proud to have accomplished,” Alex said. “It was very interesting to see what level the bar is at, and we took a lot of encouragement in not being too far from it. The hard work has already begun in preparing for the 2026 season here in the UK, where we’re aiming to win this year’s domestic championship.”
Alex Brown's robot, TR4.
Alex explained that his involvement with combat robotics from such a young age inspired him to pursue engineering as a profession, which ultimately led to starting a PhD in Surgical Robotics as part of the STORM lab at Leeds.
“I get both ends of the spectrum from large 110kg robots designed to fight each other, down to small, precise, medical devices designed to hopefully one day be used in the operating theatre,” he said. “I think the blend of the two makes me a well-rounded engineer overall, and I try to draw on the experiences I have had running the combat robotics team during my research when running projects, problem-solving, and conducting analytical experiments.”
TR4 was engineered specifically for reliability and controlled power delivery, and featured a 1,000psi pneumatic flipper capable of overturning a small car, alongside a drive system producing more than 8.4 kW of power. The robot’s chassis is built from Hardox, a high-carbon steel often used in tanks and heavy industrial equipment.
Brown’s Robot Wars career provided the blueprints for his latest design. His earlier machine, TR2, competed in the 2016 series and recorded eight victories, including wins over highly regarded opponents like Carbide and Dantomkia, before finishing third overall. TR2, which he operated in a team with his parents, Clive and Wendy, lost just once during its campaign, to the eventual champion Apollo.
Further information
- Lead image caption: Lena Milton, Alexander Brown, and Clive Brown standing behind TR4.
- For media enquiries, please contact Faculty Communications Manager Matt Gardner at M.D.Gardner@leeds.ac.uk.
