Meet Team Bénin: Ten of Us, One Robot, One App
Team Bénin (Équipe du Bénin) introduces its ten members, its femCoders mentors and the five-step method behind its FIRST Global Challenge 2026 robot.
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Stories and resources to explore science, robotics and hands-on learning in Benin.
FIRST Global Challenge 2026 · Incheon
Team Bénin @ FGC 2026 — The Journal
Design decisions, workshop tests and lessons from the Team Bénin robotics season. Written by the team, in English and French.
13 articles
Decoding the Wildfire Game: The Math That Shaped Our Robot
How Team Bénin read the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 Wildfire game manual, did the scoring math, and turned it into five robot priorities and a 50 cm design.
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Paper Robot: Our Sketches, Four Shooter Ideas and the Decision Matrix
Team Bénin shows its FGC 2026 design sketches, two intake ideas, four shooter ideas and the weighted decision matrix that picked a flap-wheel intake and one wide flywheel.
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Version 1 Was a Tower. Version 2 Got Low.
Team Bénin's FGC 2026 prototypes: why the Version 1 tower almost worked, what the feeder tests proved, and what the Version 2 test video showed frame by frame.
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Weekly Calls, Fresh Eyes: What Team Inspiration and Team Spyders Helped Us See
How weekly calls with Team Inspiration and Team Spyders helped Team Bénin improve its FGC 2026 robot, including three fixes to the entry, hopper walls and flywheel spacing.
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Six Motors, Zero Sensors, One Number: 2600
Team Bénin's FGC 2026 wiring and code: two hubs, six motors, REV Blocks exported to Java, a velocity-controlled flywheel at 2600 and the controller map — plus the bug we still need to fix.
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2 Minutes 30: Our Match Plan and Drive Team
Team Bénin's FGC 2026 match plan in three phases — the first 20 seconds, shoot and repeat, and the climb — plus how our drive team splits the job.
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FireWise Bénin: A Prototype for Preventing Bush Fires
Team Bénin’s FGC 2026 FireWise Bénin project explores practical fire-prevention guidance, hazard awareness and reporting in four languages.
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What We Learned This Season (Written the Night Before We Fly)
The night before flying to Incheon for FGC 2026, Team Bénin writes down six engineering lessons from the season and the four next steps we'll take in Korea.
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We Built a Free Kit Parts Finder for Every FGC 2026 Team
Team Bénin made a free, bilingual (English/French) search tool for all 152 parts of the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 REV kit — photos, plain-language names, REV part numbers and 9 categories. Open to every team.
Read article →Nous avons créé un catalogue gratuit des pièces du kit FGC 2026, pour toutes les équipes
L'Équipe du Bénin a créé un catalogue gratuit et bilingue (français/anglais) des 152 pièces du kit REV du FIRST Global Challenge 2026 : photos, noms simples, références REV et 9 catégories. Ouvert à toutes les équipes.
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Our Stand and Stickers: A Visual Welcome from Team Bénin
Explore Team Bénin’s FGC 2026 visual identity through its Bénin-inspired banner, sticker artwork and illustrated robot mascot.
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Arsène, Our Mascot: The Teammate We Took to Korea in Our Hearts
Team Bénin celebrates Arsène’s energy, ideas and quick reactions through the illustrated teammate who became this year’s mascot—even from home.
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More femCoders articles · originals in French
- Girls & STEM · FRWhy are there so few girls in science in Benin? How to change the situation
Girls have curiosity and talent. They need opportunities, equipment and role models. Explore barriers and approaches that work at school and at home.
- Girls & STEM · FR3 women out of 43: Rachael Orumor's journey and the creation of femCoders
From three women in a software engineering class of 43 to a mission to bring more girls into technology: Rachael Orumor's journey, femCoders and Team Benin.
- Girls & STEM · FR‘Robotics isn't for girls’: seven misconceptions tested in practice
Too difficult, only for boys, only for maths experts? Classroom robotics challenges seven common misconceptions that discourage girls.
- Girls & STEM · FRFrom participant to instructor: passing on robotics skills
How to become a robotics instructor, which skills to develop and how training former students multiplies impact.
- Girls & STEM · FRTen science and technology careers robotics helps students discover
Building a robot can be a first step towards a career. Explore ten roles, their day-to-day work and how to start preparing in Benin.
- Girls & STEM · FRWhy invest in STEM education for girls in West Africa?
Supporting girls in science and technology builds skills, talent and local solutions. Explore programme selection criteria and ways to contribute.
- Practical robotics · FRWhat is an mBot? A guide for parents and beginners
What's inside an mBot, what can it teach, who is it for and how can you use it effectively? Answers for parents and beginners.
- Practical robotics · FRProgramming without typing code: understanding mBlock and Scratch
Colourful blocks introduce real computing logic. Discover how Scratch and mBlock work and what children learn from them.
- Practical robotics · FRFive beginner mBot challenges: concepts, equipment and method
Five progressive challenges for a club, class or home, with learning goals, equipment and mistakes to avoid.
- Practical robotics · FRDesign thinking for secondary school students: from observation to prototype
A five-step approach centred on people, for school projects, competitions and business ideas.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRFIRST Global Challenge: the competition and Team Benin's place in it
More than 190 countries, international alliances and robotics: understand the competition and Team Benin's journey since 2017.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Incheon in 2026: the team, preparation and Igniting Innovation
Team Benin represented the country in Incheon, South Korea, from 7 to 10 October 2026. Discover the team's preparation and the wildfire challenge.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRWildfires and robotics: what sensors, prevention and technology can offer
Sensors, drones, satellites and robots: explore what these technologies can contribute to preventing and responding to wildfires.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRRelive Team Benin's FIRST Global Challenge 2026 adventure
The competition has ended. Find official results, revisit the team's stories and see the highlights shared on our social media.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Washington in 2017: the first participation and its result
Seven students finished seventh out of 163 teams, the only African team in the top 10. Revisit the first edition and its lasting impact.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Mexico in 2018: Energy Impact and girls joining the team
After an all-male first team, GFRTP graduates joined Team Benin in Mexico. Explore this turning point for robotics in Benin.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FR2019, two competitions: Team Benin in Dubai and PARC in Ghana
A busy year: PARC in Ghana, BeninBot Challenge at Sèmè City and FIRST Global in Dubai. Understand the different events and Benin's participation.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Geneva in 2022: Carbon Capture and the return to in-person competition
Explore the robot challenge, the meaning of carbon capture and Team Benin's 2022 season.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Singapore in 2023: Hydrogen Horizons and the robot's preparation
From robot inspection and support between teams to national TV coverage, discover the 2023 season.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Athens in 2024: Feeding the Future and sustainable food
Robots managed water and energy to produce food. Explore the challenge, its relevance to West Africa and Benin's participation.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRTeam Benin in Panama City in 2025: Eco Equilibrium and biodiversity
The game and innovation challenge invited teams to protect ecosystems. Discover Team Benin's season.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRHow to join Team Benin: learn, prepare and apply
Explore general requirements, useful skills and how to get official information on the next selection.
- FIRST Global and Team Benin · FRFrom Cotonou to the world: Team Benin's FIRST Global history
From Washington's seven boys to today's mixed teams, revisit the seasons, global themes and lessons since 2017.
- Parents and schools · FRRobotics courses for children in Cotonou: a parents' guide
Age, content, supervision, safety, budget and questions to ask before enrolling your child.
- Parents and schools · FRSix STEM holiday activities in Benin, with or without equipment
Science and technology activities for different ages and budgets, from simple experiments to computer projects and workshops.
- Parents and schools · FRStarting a school robotics club: planning, supervision, budget and safety
A practical guide to goals, equipment, staffing, organisation and partnerships for a lasting robotics club.
- Parents and schools · FRWhat robotics can teach children beyond coding
With good supervision, robotics can build perseverance, collaboration, communication and confidence.
- Impact and partners · FRGFRTP: the girls-focused robotics training programme
Created after FIRST Global 2017, GFRTP introduces students to robotics, programming and English through hands-on learning, prioritising girls.
- Impact and partners · FR10for250: the programme's goal and the role of partner NGOs
femCoders and the US Embassy train volunteers from ten NGOs, each of which teaches robotics and STEM to 25 girls.
- Impact and partners · FRBeninBot Challenge 2019: revisiting Benin's first national robotics competition
Thirteen school teams competed at Sèmè City with support from San Diego teams. Revisit the event and its lessons.