Little Robots, Big Missions
Robofest, hosted by Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, is a festival of competitions and events with autonomous robots encouraging students to have fun while learning STEAM, AI, and Computer Science principles.
Students can design, construct, and program their robots using any robotics kit and programming language.
What's New:
- NEW! Updated 2026 Wrap-Up Video
- 9/16/26 eNews
- 2026 Annual Report & Assessment Report
- Robofest Alumni Spotlight
- eAcademy Workshops and Other Resources
- Robofest Wiki page
Kickoff Meeting Schedule
Robofest will host a series of meetings to announce and review the 2027 General Competition Rules Highlights, and Category rules. Coaches and team members are encouraged to attend one meeting.
Kickoff I: Friday, October 2, 2026: 9:00 AM ~ 10:20 AM on Zoom (recording)
Kickoff II: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 7:00 PM ~ 8:30 PM on Zoom (link)
Kickoff III: Saturday, January 9, 2027: 10:00 AM ~ 11:30 PM – at LTU and Zoom
State of MI 99h Grant Application is Now Open
The Michigan Department of Education 99h Robotics Competition Grant provides funding to Robofest teams in Michigan. The registration period is October 19 - December 1, 2026. Teams must have a Team ID to complete the grant application. Pre-registration is open.
All application resources, including the request for proposal, are available on the MDE Robotics Competition Grant webpage.
UMC Scholarship Competition at LTU
Robofest is hosting the 4th annual Unknown Mission Scholarship Challenge this fall for High School students to compete to win up to a $17,000 Annual LTU Scholarship.
Saturday, October 31, 2026, 9:00 am ~ 1:00 pm
Teams or 1 or 2 students will be challenged to build and program a robot kit to solve a task in a limited amount of time. The registration fee is $35.
A free workshop for registered students will be hosted at LTU on Saturday, October 17, 9:00 pm ~ 1:00 pm
The details can be found in the 2026 UMC Scholarship Rules on the UMC page
Competition Categories
Student teams with up to 5 members each can participate in a variety of events.
Teams compete in Junior (grades 5-8), and Senior (grades 9-12) Divisions.
New Explorer RoboParade Division (grades 1-4).
Click on the images below to learn more!
Unique missions using fully autonomous robots. Robofest Game puts math skills to the test!
New for 2027! Flight Guided by Computer Vision, AI and Human-in-the-Loop Autonomy
New for 2027! Step into Computer Vision, Embodied AI, and Bipedal Automomy
Unknown Mission Challenge:
Mission tasks are totally unknown until the day of competition
Be the fastest robot to push bottles off the table OR be the last robot remaining. Great for Aunomous Robotice beginners!
Vision Centric Challenge:
Advanced category for high school students.
A "Robotics Science Fair" where teams have complete freedom to show off any creative robotics R&D project.
Robotic music, dance, visual arts and story-telling projects and interactive kinetic sculptures.
Teams create intelligent, interactive medical robotics devices or projects.
A parade of autonomous robotic self-driving floats. Great for beginners to autonomous robotics.
Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors
If you would like to sponsor Robofest, download and submit the 2027 Robofest Sponsorship Pledge Form or you can designate Robofest on the LTU College of Arts and Sciences contribution page.
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