What does it mean to live well across a long life? The Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge invites student designers from around the world to create impactful, practical, human-centered solutions to the real challenges people face across long lives. 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.
LONGEVITY DESIGN CHALLENGE GOALS:
- Create well-designed, practical solutions that improve well-being across the lifespan
- Encourage a new generation of students to become knowledgeable about issues associated with long lives
- Provide promising designers with a path to drive change in the world
ABOUT THE 2026-27 DESIGN CHALLENGE THEME:
“Human-Centered Robotics for Longevity”
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.
Longevity-related categories to explore:
- Mobility and Physical Safety: robotics that support movement, confidence, and community participation across changing physical abilities, from helping someone navigate an unfamiliar environment independently to supporting return to physical activity after injury or illness at any age.
- Caregiving and Daily Living: robotics that reduce the physical and cognitive burden of caregiving across the lifespan, such as for a new parent, a partner managing a chronic condition, or an adult child caring for an aging relative, in ways that strengthen rather than replace human presence.
- Social Connection and Cognitive Health: robotics that create new opportunities for meaningful interaction, intergenerational connection, and cognitive engagement, especially for people whose social worlds have contracted due to mobility, geography, or cognitive change.
- Sustainable Cities and Aging Infrastructure: robotics that help people participate actively in their communities as poorly designed urban environments, physical limitations, or driving cessation constrain their independence.
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.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Register to participate and submit your entry here: https://designchallengestanford.skild.com/
Register to Participate
Register to participate here between September 15 – December 1, 2026. You may participate as an individual or as part of a team. Teams may have a maximum of 5 members. See the “Teams and eligibility” section of the FAQ below for more information about team rules. If you are registering as a team, the person who registers first will be designated the team leader. They can then add everyone else as team members.
Prepare your submission
You can view all the materials you will need to prepare in this preview of the entry form. (coming soon)
Please see the “Submissions” sections of the FAQ below for more information about the entry form. If you still have questions, please email [email protected].
Submit your design
Once you have prepared your materials, log in and complete the entry form. The form will be open from September 15 until 11:59 PM Pacific time on December 1, 2026.
After the December 1, 2026 deadline, the judges will evaluate all submitted designs according to the judging criteria (see the Details section below for more information).
Finalists
Finalists will be announced on January 27, 2027. Finalists will be awarded $1,000 US and paired with an experienced mentor.
Finalists will compete in the final competition for $10,000 in April 2027. The finals are expected to be held in-person at Stanford University. Finalists are reimbursed (limited) travel costs.
DETAILS
CHALLENGE TIMELINE AND MILESTONES
The challenge is organized into two phases that are synchronized with the academic year.
Phase I: Ideation
September – December 2026
Phase I is the open call portion of the challenge. During this time, teams will learn about the topic and create their solution concept. There are no prototyping requirements in Phase I – the initial submission is about the idea/concept. The Challenge organizing team will be available during Phase I for questions. Solutions may be submitted at any time during this period, with a deadline of December 1, 2026.
Judging Period
December 2026 – January 2027
During this period, our judging panel will select a small number of finalists. Finalists will be announced in late January.
Phase II: Demonstration
January 2027 – April 2027
During Phase II, finalists will be asked to further develop their idea and to prepare a presentation for the Finals. Teams should work to demonstrate that they have a viable solution and that they’ve thought rigorously about the problem, the user, and how their robotic solution would function and feel in practice.
Finalists will also be asked to submit a one-pager about their design for the Finals Judges.
An expert mentor will be paired with each team to support them through this phase.
Finals
April 2027
Finalists take part in three days of activities on Stanford campus and surrounding area. At the final competition, each team will have seven minutes to pitch their idea to the panel of judges, followed by five minutes of Q&A. The judges will use the same criteria as for the initial submissions and will decide the top three winners on the same day as the pitches.
KEY DATES
- Kick-off: Monday, September 15, 2026
- Phase I submissions due: Tuesday, December 1, 2026
- Finalists (5-8 teams) announced: Wednesday, January 27, 2027
- Finals: April 2027 (exact date TBD)
AWARDS
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.
ELIGIBILITY
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.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Any intellectual property developed by a team during participation in the Design Challenge will remain the property of the individual design team, or the team members’ universities or employers, as applicable. The Stanford Center on Longevity and Challenge sponsors reserve the right to publicize designs following submission. Teams interested in intellectual property protection should take any steps necessary to protect patentable inventions, copyrighted work or other intellectual property prior to submission. Team involvement with any of the Challenge sponsors is strictly voluntary. Agreements between teams and sponsors are beyond the reach of Stanford Center on Longevity or Stanford University, and should be arranged separately between the teams and sponsors.
JUDGING CRITERIA
The Challenge will be judged by experts in design and technology including carefully selected academics with expertise on the topic; executives from technology and consumer goods firms; venture capitalists; and senior representatives from related mission-driven organizations.
Judging Criteria
- 40% Impact – will the design improve long life outcomes? Will it help people to have healthier or more meaningful long lives?
- 30% Feasibility – can the design be built? Will it work? Can it reach and be usable by its target audience?
- 20% Originality – has this idea been seen before? Is this a new contribution or approach to the problem?
- 10% Affordability – teams must identify their target population for the design. Would the cost of the robot make it a viable product for that population?
A separate score reflecting alignment of the design to the topic will be added as a weight to the overall score. For example, if a design were to score 90% on the judging criteria above but only 50% on alignment, the overall score would be 45% (.90 X .50).
SUPPORT
For more information, please contact Marie Conley-Smith at [email protected].
FAQ
Teams and eligibility
Who is eligible to participate in the Longevity Design Challenge?
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.
Can my team consist of students from multiple universities?
Yes! Teams may consist of students from multiple universities, from anywhere in the world.
Can non-university (e.g., high school) students participate?
Other (non-university) students may participate in the Design Challenge, but only as part of a team which contains at least one university (undergraduate or graduate) student.
Can a team have members who are not students?
Yes! A team may be a mix of students and non-students (of any age).
If a team is chosen for the finals, only team members who are students may participate in the final presentation.
Can I submit a design by myself?
Yes! You may participate as an individual.
Can I/my team submit more than one design?
Yes! You may be a member on multiple teams and/or submit multiple designs. In the submission portal you will need to submit each design under a different email address. We do, however, recommend spending more time on one design in order to make sure your submission is high quality, rather than submitting many designs.
Submissions
What kinds of materials do I need to submit to participate in the Longevity Design Challenge?
All materials are to be submitted through the submission platform: https://designchallengestanford.skild.com/.
When is the last day to submit a design?
The submission deadline for the 2025-2026 Longevity Design Challenge is Monday, December 1, 2025. The submission portal will close at 11:59 pm (23:59) Pacific time on December 1.
What types of designs are accepted by the Longevity Design Challenge?
Many types of designs are accepted in the Longevity Design Challenge. It could be a program you implement in your community, an app or software, a product for people to use, or anything else that will help people live long and healthy lives under the current topic, “Human-Centered Robotics for Longevity.”
Do I have to produce/implement my design for the competition?
You do not need to have a product made for the December submission deadline. We are just looking for a thorough explanation (text, and pictures/video if applicable) of what your product will be. Then, if your idea is chosen as a finalist, that’s a great time to start developing it more fully.
If you are able to make a prototype before the December deadline and able to conduct some user testing, it can help to share your results in your submission. It can be really early stages user testing, like with family and friends (who hopefully fit into whichever demographics you are designing for). Or if you don’t have a product to test yet, you can also do user interviews to get feedback on your idea.
What are the judging criteria, and what do they mean?
Longevity Design Challenge submissions are scored on 5 criteria:
Impact: The primary question behind the “impact” criteria is “will the design improve long life outcomes?” Because this is a longevity design challenge, we want to know if the design will help people be healthier (physically, emotionally, socially, etc.) or more purposeful in a way that will help improve their lives.
Originality: Does your design represent an original idea? Has your idea been seen before? Is there something similar to it on the market? A new design will earn a higher score in this criterion.
Feasibility: Will your design work in the real world? Can the design be produced at scale (e.g., for most/all of the population it is meant to serve)? Your design may be a very interesting or compelling idea, but it needs to be feasible to bring it to life to get high marks in this criterion.
Affordability: Will your users be able to afford your design when it is produced at scale? This is why the judges want to know who your design is for: e.g., Is it for children? Older adults? People with low incomes? They will also want to know how much your design will cost its users when it is produced at scale.
Fit to theme: Is your design relevant to this year’s design theme, “Prevention by Design: Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Long Lives”? You can read more about this theme on our website.
What is expected in a submission video?
We recommend uploading a short (i.e., maximum 90 seconds) video that will help the judges understand your design. A video is not required for entry.
The entry form asks for "documentation that will help evaluate your proposal." What type of documentation?
This field is meant for any materials you think might present your idea more clearly alongside your text answers in the following fields. For example, you might describe how your idea works in the text fields, but you think it would be helpful to include a visual or flow chart of it, so you could include PowerPoint or PDF slides that contain visual mock-ups of how your idea works. It is not required to include any extra materials.
Do I need to include citations in my design description?
This may not apply to everyone. If you would like to include citations, don’t worry too much about including a lot of citations (the judges just need enough information to understand your idea), but if you feel that there are sources that are important to include, please include some kind of citation along with the links so that we can see the title, publication year, and authors (in case the link doesn’t work for us). You may use any citation format.
Is there mentorship available during the submission process?
The Longevity Design Challenge team isn’t big enough to offer general mentoring in the first phase of the competition, but if you have a specific question about your project, you may email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to answer it or to try to help find a resource. This is also a great time to take advantage of your university’s resources. The 6-8 teams that are selected for the finals will each be paired with a mentor.
Prizes
What are the cash prizes for this competition?
- Finalist teams (announced in January): $1000 US
- Grand prizes (determined at the final competition in April):
- 1st place: $10000 US
- 2nd place: $5000 US
- 3rd place: $2000 US
How are the cash prizes paid out?
Each finalist team is asked to designate one team member to receive prize money and that person is responsible for disseminating it to the other team members. That person will be asked to provide bank information for a wire transfer, and a tax identification number (if applicable).
Is the prize money subject to US taxes?
Yes. Prize money received will be reported on tax form 1099. Tax forms are distributed at the beginning of the following calendar year. (US taxes are filed before April 15 for the prior year.)
PREVIOUS WINNERS
The 2026 Longevity Design Challenge focused on design solutions that empower individuals to lead healthier, longer lives through preventive health strategies.
Winners:
- First Place – PhoroVis from The University of Texas at Austin, USA
- Second Place – Neevel from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
- Third Place – Shenergy from BITS Design School, India
The 2025 Longevity Design Challenge focused on reimagining education and learning opportunities to close opportunity gaps and ensure equitable access at any age.
Winners:
- First Place – Bloom from School of Visual Arts, USA
- Second Place – Flo from Indian Institute of Technology, India
- Third Place – Praxice from University of Maribor, Slovenia
2023-2024 | “Designing for Life Transitions”
The 2024 Longevity Design Challenge focused on making life transitions more positive and meaningful for people of all ages.
Winners:
- First Place – “Asterisk” from University of Navarra, Spain
- Second Place – “Bala” from Delhi Technological University, India
- Third Place – “LifeQuest” from Northwestern University, USA
2022-2023 | “Optimizing Health Span: Living Well at Every Age”
The 2022 Longevity Design Challenge focused on the optimization of health span at any age.
Winners:
- First Place – “Variable Reactive Board” from Pratt Institute & New York University, USA
- Second Place – “Unpause Life” from NMIMS School of Design, India
- Third Place – “2 Care” from Tunghai University, Ming Chi University of Technology, and National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan
2021-2022 | “Longevity-Ready Environments: Rethinking Physical Spaces for Century-Long Lives”
The 2022 Longevity Design Challenge focused on designing physical spaces that better support century-long lives.
- First Place – “Sarewa” from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria
- Second Place –“Karpolax” from Makerere University, Uganda
- Third Place – “Spore” from North Carolina State University & Boston College, USA
2020-2021 | “After the Pandemic: Designing the Next Version of Our World”
The 2021 Longevity Design Challenge focused on ideas inspired by the cultural shift that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic that support long, healthy, and happy lives for everyone.
- First Place – “Foris Labs” from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria
- Second Place – “PhoneBook” from the Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA
- Third Place – “Wulu” from Harvard Kennedy School, USA (team located in India)
2019-2020 | “Reducing the Inequity Gap: Designing for Affordability”
The 2020 Longevity Design Challenge focused on significantly reducing the cost of innovations that help people at all ages increase their odds of a long and healthy life.
Winners:
- First Place – “Shishu, Sui aur Dhaaga” from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru, India
- Second Place – “School in the Sky” from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA
- Third Place – “The First Desk” from the Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China
2018-2019 | “Contributing at Every Age: Designing for Intergenerational Impact”
We invited teams to submit proposals for designs that promote and facilitate intergenerational interaction.
Winners:
- First Place – “Family Room” by Anand Upender, Daniel Chan, Mina Bhatt, Nadine Levine, Stanford University
- First Place – “So You Think You Know Your Grandma” by Ismail Azam, Inaara Charolia, Rani Cochran, Ashna Mangla, Lillian Tran UC Berkeley
- Second Place – “Pillow Fight!” by Hung-Yu Chen, Chor-Kheng Lim, Ching-Chia Renn, YuanZe University, Taipei
2017-2018 | “Promoting Lifelong Habits through Design”
We invited teams to submit proposals for designs to create and support healthy habits –including financial, physical, and social behaviors—which are shown to improve quality of life.
Winners:
- First Place – “Ride Rite” by Eric Bottelsen, Eric Lord, Maya Pines, and Drew Sigler from Virginia Tech
- Second Place – “Gesturecise” by Nakul Kasture, Nikhil Kumar, Akshat Mandloi, and Purvish Shah from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
- Third Place – “Grow and Gather” by Seira Yasumatsu of San Francisco State University.
2016-2017 | “Aging in Place”
The challenge invited submissions to address the factors that allow individuals and families to remain in their homes throughout the lifespan and into old age.
Winners:
- First Place – “TAME” by Hooriya Anam, Awais Shafique, and Arsalan Javed from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan
- Second Place – “Rendever” by Charles Lin and Kyle Rand at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Third Place – “UPPO” by Lane Hering, Emma Lee, Charlene Lertlumprasert, Genesis Solano, and Gerrold Walker from Virginia Tech
2015-2016 | “Using Happiness to Optimize Longevity”
The challenge invited submissions to address three tracks: Mind, Mobility, and Financial Security, reflective of the Center on Longevity’s mission to enable people to reach old age Mentally Sharp, Physically Fit, and Financially Secure.
Winners:
“Delight the Mind” (Mind Challenge)
- First Place – “Memoir Monopoly” from Cho Szu-Yang and Cheng Ya-Fang of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
- Second Place – “Bath Chair” from National Yunlin University of Science (Taiwan)
- Third Place – “Echo” from National University of Singapore
“Discover the Motion” (Mobility Challenge)
- First Place – “City Cart” from Brandon Lopez and Eric Renard of San Francisco State University
- Second Place – “Yedi70” from Koc University at Istanbul
- Third Place – “POTALK” from National Chiao-Tung University (Taiwan)
Note: Insufficient entries were received to select finalists and make awards in the financial track.
2014-2015 | “Enabling Personal Mobility Across the Life Span”
The 2014-2015 Challenge invited designer to create solutions for empowering mobility among older adults at a personal level by: (1) reducing sedentary lifestyles, (2) encouraging and enabling physical movement and exercise, and (3) reducing barriers and increasing facilitators to mobility in the home and community.
- First Place – Nicholas Steigmann and Maiya Jensen from the California College of the Arts and their project “SPAN”
- Second Place – “HandleBar” from the University of California, Berkeley
- Third Place – “Luna Lights” from Northwestern University
- Stanford Longevity Technology Prize – “Flipod” from National University of Singapore
2013-2014 | “Maximizing Independence for those with Cognitive Impairment”
This 2013-2014 challenge focused on designing new solutions to keep individuals with cognitive impairment independent for as long as possible. The challenge asked designer to identify issues around quality of life, personal independence, and helping people experience the best parts of life for as long as possible.
- First Place – “EatWell” by Sha Yao from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco
- Second Place – “Taste+” from the KEIO-NUS CUTE center at the National University of Singapore
- Third Place – “Memory Maps” from the Copenhagen Institute of Design
Available Pages
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- 2018-2019 DESIGN CHALLENGE FINALS
- 2021 Finalists
- 2022 Finalists
- 2022 Finalists
- 2024 Design Challenge Finals
- 2024 Finals Event Additional Details
- 2025 Design Challenge Finals
- 2025 Longevity Design Challenge Winners Announced
- 2025 Phase 1 Judges
- 2026 Finals Event
- 2026 Finals Registration
- Amy Yotopoulos
- Blog Posts
- Chris Tarchala
- Christopher Tarchala
- Design Challenge Retrospective
- Draft Judges
- Duane Detwiler
- Elizabeth Gephardt
- Elizabeth Halifax
- FAQ
- Finalists
- Finals Event 2024
- Hannah Heejong Lim
- Home
- Home 2
- Liz Loewy
- Log In
- Login Designer
- LoginPress
- Longevity-Ready Environments: Rethinking Physical Spaces for Century-Long Lives
- Mekhala Raghavan
- New Topic
- NoelLeon Gauthier
- Promoting Lifelong Healthy Habits through Design
- slider 2025
- Staci Alexander
- Stacy Canan
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces “After the Pandemic: Designing the Next Version of Our World” Design Challenge Winners
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces 10th Annual Design Challenge Winners
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces 2024 “Designing for Life Transitions” Winners
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces Eight Finalist Teams for 11th Annual Global Design Challenge
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces Eight Finalist Teams for 12th Annual Global Design Challenge
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces Eight Finalist Teams for 13th Annual Global Design Challenge
- Stanford Center on Longevity Announces Finalists for 10th Annual Design Challenge
- Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge Finals 2023
- Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge Finals 2024
- Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge Finals 2026
- Stephanie Smith
- Thomas Flores
- Topics
- Welcome Finalists
- Welcome Judges
- Winners Announced: Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge “Longevity-Ready Environments: Rethinking Physical Spaces for Century-Long Lives”