FIRST Digital Animation Award
We are no longer accepting entries for the 2026 FIRST Digital Animation Award.
We are very excited to announce the 2026 FIRST Digital Animation Award Winners below! We received a record number of entries this year and want to thank and congratulate all FIRST teams for their outstanding entries.
WPI is excited to be sponsoring the 2026 FIRST Digital Animation Award which celebrates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and emphasizes the ability to tell a story through animation that integrates technological, social, and humanistic concepts.
The 2026 Digital Animation Award is offered to help encourage students to cultivate skills in design and creation of animation while telling a story about the impact of technology on society. This award is open to all FIRST Robotics Competition teams and FIRST Tech Challenge teams and is optional.
Visit judging and submission requirements for more information.
Announcing the 2026 FIRST Digital Animation Award Winners!
Team 5298, E-Tech Chargers
FRC Judges’ Comments: We love so much about this video: the color palette, cute art style, expressive characters, and consistent story that tells both the history and future of a simple invention that changed the world. Congratulations, it is clear a lot of love went into this project!
Team 21536, Stealth
FTC Judges’ Comments: This is such a great use of the stop-motion medium, and we were impressed by the detail and expressivity in the animation. This video has some excellent storytelling about the pervasive issue of plastic pollution. We love that this video shows the potential downsides of the introduction of new inventions and includes a call to action. Excellent work!
A full playlist of all the submissions can be found on YouTube for the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge.
Congratulations to all the teams on fantastic submissions!
This Year’s Theme: The Artifact That Changed Everything
Choose one invention or material and animate how future generations might view it as the defining artifact of our era.
Need a little inspiration?
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Built to Last (or Not): Future archaeologists might find crumbling cities or a legacy of self-healing buildings that stood the test of time. Animate the story of how our choices in construction, urban design, or waste management become tomorrow’s artifacts.
Learn more about self-healing concrete
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Energy Imprint: Consider the long-term impacts of the batteries inside of all our modern devices. What if instead of digging up the waste, future generations instead reaped the benefits of sustainable battery recycling. Tell that story in animation.
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Beyond Earth: Rockets have become symbols of human ingenuity. Animate the story of how today’s innovations in reusable rockets and sustainable propulsion shape the next era of exploration.
Competition Awards
An official FIRST Trophy and Plaque will be sent to the winner from FIRST. There will be one winner and trophy for the FIRST Robotics Competition winner and another winner and trophy for FIRST Tech Challenge.
WPI will provide sponsorships to the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge winning teams as long as all submission criteria are met:
- FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC): A team sponsorship covering the 2026/2027 registration fee (a $6,300 value).
- FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC): A $2,000 team sponsorship, which breaks down as:
- $325 toward registration
- $500 toward field materials
- $1,175 toward robot materials
Competition Scholarship
Any student who is a member of a FIRST team that submits a Digital Animation Award entry is eligible for a $1,000 scholarship to attend WPI.
The scholarship form opened November 1, 2025 and closes May 1, 2026.
Past Winner References
COPYRIGHT
By making a submission, the Submitter irrevocably grants to FIRST and FIRST's designees the right to use any or all of the submission in any and all media for the purpose of describing the submission, describing the Award, and/or otherwise promoting FIRST and FIRST's programs.