Agents & Robotics HackXelerator™

AR26 is the Agents & Robotics HackXelerator™ 2026 – a multi-week innovation event where builders ship real AI systems focused on agents, robotics, and embodied intelligence. Unlike traditional weekend hackathons, AR26 combines hackathon energy with accelerator structure, giving you weeks to learn, iterate, and build production-oriented prototypes that demonstrate how you actually think and build.

A HackXelerator™ is KXSB's trademarked format that blends competitive hands-on building with mentoring, workshops, and guided iteration. It's where hackathon speed meets accelerator focus – builders ship real AI solutions, and companies discover talent by watching the work, not reading CVs.

KXSB – a UK not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) building a global AI innovation community. We help people building with AI turn ideas into working prototypes, gain real-world visibility, and connect directly with employers, collaborators, and platforms through hands-on delivery rather than CVs.

Both! AR26 supports full remote participation with all major events live-streamed, while also offering in-person experiences at our London kick-off and Berlin showcase. You can participate from anywhere in the world.

AR26 is open globally to:

• University students (Computer Science, AI, Robotics, Engineering, and related disciplines)
• Developers, researchers, and technical builders
• Multidisciplinary teams combining software, hardware, design, and research
• Independent builders and AI enthusiasts worldwide

AR26 is completely free to participate.

Register through the KXSB platform at kxsb.org/ar26. After registration, you'll be able to access Discord for team formation and ongoing collaboration.

Teams are strongly encouraged, but solo participation is allowed. There's no formal team size limit. You can form teams before the event or during our kick-off through Discord matchmaking.

Join our Discord server after registering! We have dedicated channels for team formation and matchmaking before and during the kick-off event.

There's no minimum coding requirement! AR26 is designed for:

• Beginners, researchers, and non-coders with strong ideas
• Experienced developers and roboticists
• Multidisciplinary teams bringing different perspectives

AI-assisted and agentic coding tools are explicitly encouraged.

You'll need a laptop and a sustained time commitment over the multi-week period.

Projects must align with one primary category:

1. Digital Agents & Multi-Agent Systems – LLM-based agents, orchestration frameworks, collaborative AI systems, autonomous workflows
2. Autonomous Systems & Embodied AI – Robotics, drones, autonomous navigation, perception-action loops, simulation-to-real transfer
3. Human-Robot Interaction & Social Robotics – Interfaces, emotional AI, assistive robotics, therapy, education, creative collaboration
4. Ethics, Agency & Societal Impact – Governance, accountability, AI alignment, human oversight, responsible deployment

Yes! Projects may span multiple themes, but you must declare one primary category for judging.

Build working systems that solve real problems. AR26 prioritizes production-oriented prototypes over slideware – systems that demonstrate technical execution, originality, and real-world relevance.

Each team must submit:

• A 1–5 minute demo video showing what you built, how it works, and what problem it addresses
• A completed project page on the KXSB platform
• Optional supporting materials (GitHub repos, documentation, datasets, simulations)

A panel of KXSB core team members, industry partners, and platform/technology sponsors evaluates submissions during April 12–17, 2026.

• Cash prizes
• GPU and compute credits
• Platform and API credits
• Featured placement on KXSB channels
• Ongoing mentoring and Talent Exchange visibility
• Travel stipends for Berlin showcase finalists (for selected teams)
• Winner and runner-up awards per category

Final prize values will be announced ahead of kick-off.

Discord is your central collaboration hub for:

• Team formation and matchmaking
• Technical Q&A
• Sponsor-led support channels
• Announcements and workshops
• Ongoing peer feedback

Mentorship & Workshops provide:

• Guidance from the KXSB delivery team
• Input from engineers and researchers at partner organizations
• Live and recorded sessions on agent architectures, robotics, simulation, deployment, and career pathways

Absolutely. All support channels, workshops, and mentoring are accessible through Discord and online platforms for remote participants.

No. Full remote participation is supported throughout. However, in-person attendance at the London kick-off (March 27) and Berlin showcase (April 17) offers valuable networking opportunities.

Travel stipends are planned for selected teams attending the Berlin showcase finale. Details will be announced ahead of the event.

Yes! All major events are live-streamed, and recordings will be published publicly, so you won't miss anything if you can't attend live.

• Visit kxsb.org/ar26 for full event details
• Join our Discord server for real-time updates and community discussion
• Attend the Pre-Event Briefing on March 12, 2026, for a complete walkthrough
• Email us directly at hello@kxsb.org

Join the KXSB Discord server immediately after registering – it's your central hub for all announcements, updates, and community interaction.