The Stanford Center on Longevity invites university students from around the world to compete in the 2026-2027 Longevity Design Challenge, on the theme “Human-Centered Robotics for Longevity”.
For its fourteenth year, the design theme, “Human-Centered Robotics for Longevity,” explores how robotics can support longer lives while strengthening, rather than replacing, the relationships and communities that make those lives worth living.
Top winners receive cash prizes of $10,000 (1st place), $5,000 (2nd place), $2,000 (3rd place). Finalists receive a $1,000 cash prize and mentorship from industry experts and researchers.
Details about this year’s theme are available on the official website.
People are living longer than ever before, and throughout these longer lives they encounter periods of transition, changing abilities, new responsibilities, and evolving needs. Challenges such as mobility limitations, chronic health conditions, caregiving strain, social isolation, cognitive changes, physical safety concerns, and financial constraints can appear at any age, yet many remain underserved by existing tools and systems. Robotic solutions have the potential to help individuals, families, and communities navigate these moments, and at the same time, raise questions about replacement, depersonalization, and widening social gaps. This Design Challenge invites students to reimagine what robotics for long lives could be when designed with humanity at the center.
This year’s Longevity Design Challenge will explore how simple, affordable, and socially supportive robotics solutions can help people thrive at every stage of life. Teams will be asked to design robotic tools, ranging from low-cost mechanical devices to interactive smart systems, that address life-course challenges in one of four categories, while preserving or enhancing human relationships. The goal is not to remove people from care, connection, or community, but to empower individuals and families by reducing burdens, improving safety, expanding independence, and creating new opportunities for engagement.
Students are encouraged to think creatively and practically – high-tech and low-tech are equally welcome. The challenge is not to design the most advanced robot, but the most impactful, especially for individuals and families with limited financial resources or access to emerging technologies.
This theme asks competitors to imagine a future where robotics and human connection grow together: where technology supports dignity, autonomy, and belonging; where families and communities are strengthened rather than replaced; and where simple robotic innovations can help people of all ages experience long life as a shared, connected journey.
The challenge is open to teams of 1-5 students enrolled during the 2026-2027 academic year, attending any accredited university or college globally. Each team must have at least one full-time student and if the team is selected as a Finalist, only students may present.
There are no field/background requirements – team members can come from any discipline, from design, engineering, and business, to social sciences, law, physical sciences, education, and humanities.
No Entry Fee!
It's free to enter.