A team of students from St. Francis Xavier College in Canberra has been crowned champions at Robocup International 2017.

The five teenagers, brothers Matthew and Jack Williams, Ryan Ewyk, Riley Cockerill and Aaron Maggs, won the Rapidly Manufactured Rescue League, in which they competed against high school and university students from six different countries, with their S.A.R.T (Semi Autonomous Robotics Team) robot.

They also received the Open Source Software Award for the detailed information they provide to the community through their website.

This is the team’s second successful visit to the tournament, following its tied victory in Leipzig, Germany last year.

The robot was designed as a rescue robot, which could be used by 'first responders' at disaster zones.

It is controlled via a dashboard app, and includes video stream, raw data log, FTP file access panel, SSH console, mapping and sensor output features to enable use in emergencies.

“We aim to build a disposable and inexpensive robot that can be rapidly manufactured and adapted to many different use cases, such as searching for survivors in tight spaces or to locate holes in inaccessible pipelines,” the team said on its blog.

“We have many plans to expand the versatility of the S.A.R.T robot. We are creating a 'base model' that other users will be able to develop on.”

Robocup International is an annual competition aimed with promoting AI, and robotics research and development.

Started in 1997, the tournament engages with students from a primary school level right through to postgraduate level.

Initially an autonomous humanoid robot soccer tournament, the Rescue League was added in 2001.

S.A.R.T’s success comes as Australia prepares to host the 2019 RoboCup International Tournament.

“RoboCup celebrates developments in artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, unlocking exciting jobs for future generations, while generating $7 million direct expenditure for our economy,” said former NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres on the announcement in 2015.

The event will be held at the International Convention Centre in partnership with UNSW, RoboCup Junior Australia and Bastion Collective.