Daleks were among the more formidable techno-warriors entered in Robo Cup 2013 at the Otago Museum.
More than 140 secondary school pupils and electronics club members competed in do-or-die rescue, theatre and football missions to sort the titans from the tin cans.
The annual competition was designed to develop the skills of young minds with a robotic bent, Otago Robotics Education Committee chairman Donald Liddell said.
''It showcases their skills. They start with Lego robots, which are essentially just plug and play, and move on to complex computer languages and start making their own robots.''
The event was supported by Dunedin technology companies Scott Technologies, ADInstruments and MilMech, which donated the Robo Cup trophies and prizes.
''It's great for the kids to see what is being done in their city by these companies and the companies see value in developing skills in young people that relate to their industry,'' Mr Liddell said.
The event was becoming increasingly popular, with the 140 participants on Saturday twice the number last year. Columba College pupil Ryely Burtenshaw-Day (16) was part of a group working on a large Dalek robot, which included servo-motors, flashing lights and a voice-modulated voice box.
''Building robots is fun. It's good to do all the handiwork and then, at the end of it, see the robot do what it's supposed to do; generally,'' she said.
The winners
Junior theatre: Tobias Devereux and Oscar McConaughy, of Kaikorai Primary School.
Junior search and rescue: Elliott Alloo, of Kaikorai Primary School.
Junior soccer: Sam Hewson, William Scharpf, Madeline McCane and Heather Robertson, from the OU Computer Science Robotics Club.
Senior theatre: Rose Fallow and Sarah Macindoe-Baker, of Otago Girls' High School.
Senior search and rescue: Jaafer Almahary and Gongrui Sun, of Otago Boys' High School.
Senior soccer: Philip Anderson, of King's High School.
Best programming prize: Philip Anderson, of King's High School.
