General Info
General Info
Auburn Cord Duesenberg Robotics Festival
A VEX Robotics Signature Event • January 15–16 2027 • Auburn, Indiana
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Robotics Festival is a VEX Robotics Signature Event that celebrates competitive robotics while showcasing the rich automotive heritage of Auburn, Indiana. This premier two‑day experience brings together top teams, world‑class officials, and the unique museum culture that defines Auburn.
Team registration includes complimentary access to three nationally recognized museums:
- The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
- The National Auto and Truck Museum (NATMUS)
- The Early Ford V‑8 Foundation Museum
This January, 80 high‑performing teams will compete for a chance to qualify for the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship.
The ACD Robotics Festival features elite referees and announcers, a heartfelt senior ceremony, Auburn‑specific elements unique to the ACD experience, and special surprises throughout the event. This is more than a tournament—it’s a celebration of engineering, creativity, and community.
Pit Decorating Contest
Bring your creativity and team spirit to the Pit Decorating Contest! Each team will receive an eight‑foot pit table to transform into a display that showcases your personality, branding, and enthusiasm. Highlight your team colors, mascot, engineering theme, or season accomplishments—anything that expresses who you are.
We will look for creativity, originality, organization, and overall team spirit.
One outstanding team will earn the Best Pit Award.
Have fun, get creative, and show everyone what makes your team unique!
World Championship Qualification Spots
The ACD Robotics Festival will award four qualification spots to the 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship:
- Tournament Champions (x2)
- High School Excellence Award
To rev up team competition, winners of Worlds qualifying awards at this event will have their Worlds registration paid by the event.
Team Mix
A minimum of 50% of the teams for this event will come from Indiana. Teams from other places on the planet are encouraged to register to fill the other 50%.
Event Full
If the event is full, we encourage teams to add themselves to the wait list.
- Venue
- Kruse Plaza
- Address
- 5634 Opportunity Blvd, Auburn, Indiana 46706, United States
- Dates
- January 15 – 16, 2027
- Grade Level
- High School
- Skills Challenge
- Yes
- Judging Format
- All In-Person Judging
- Worlds Qualifying Spots
-
- (2) Tournament Champions
- (1) High School Excellence Award
Registration & Logistics
- Event Type
- Open Tournament
- Event Format
- In-Person
- Field Control
- Smart Field Control
- Capacity
- 70
- Spots Open
- 68
- Event Region
- Indiana
- Max Registrations per Org
- 6
- Priority Registration Opens
- 18-Sep-2026 12:00 EDT
- Standard Registration Opens
- 2-Oct-2026 12:00 EDT
- Registration Deadline
- 18-Dec-2026 12:00 EST
- Payment Deadline
- 3 weeks after registering for the event
- Price
- $475.00
Agenda
Friday, January 15, 2027
8:00 AM – Doors Open
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM – Registration, Inspections, Skills, Judging
10:00 AM – Opening Ceremony & Event Meeting, including:
- Presentation of Colors
- Team Procession
- Senior Walk
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Lunch Break
12:00 PM – 5:30 PM – Qualification Matches (Skills Open concurrently)
Saturday, January 16, 2027
8:00 AM – Doors Open
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Qualification Matches (Skills Open & Judging concurrently)
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM – Lunch Break
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Alliance Selection
2:15 PM – 5:00 PM – Elimination Matches & Finals
5:00 PM – Awards & Closing Ceremony
Match Guarantee
All teams are guaranteed a minimum of eight Qualification Matches.
Judging Format
Judging Format Digital Engineering Notebook Submissions / In Person Team Interviews: Team interviews will be conducted in-person at the event. Engineering notebooks will be submitted digitally for evaluation via a link found within the "My Account" panel of the team contact. A submission deadline that may be scheduled ahead of the event date.
Volunteer
Volunteer Signature Events are only made possible by the great volunteers who staff the event. The ACD Robotics Festival Signature Event is no exception; we always aim to have the best staff of volunteers at our event. We are currently seeking volunteers in the following areas: • Field Resetters • Skills Referees • Queuers • Practice Field Monitors • Setup/Teardown John Sheaffer is the volunteer point person and may be contacted at jsheaffer@clhscadets.com. All head referees and announcers at the ACD Robotics Festival Signature Event hold previous experience from the World Championships in addition to other Signature Events, State/Regional Championships, and local events.
Emergency/Bad-Weather Policy
Emergency/Bad Weather Policy The ACD Robotics Festival will run rain, shine, or snow. In the event of any emergency or bad weather, we will post updates to events.vex.com and email coaches. If your arrival will be delayed due to an emergency, please contact the event partner with your team number.
- Excellence Award (V5)
- Tournament Champions (V5)
- Robot Skills Champion (V5)
- Robot Skills 2nd Place (V5)
- Robot Skills 3rd Place (V5)
- Amaze Award (V5)
- Build Award (V5)
- Create Award (V5)
- Design Award (V5)
- Energy Award (V5)
- Innovate Award (V5)
- Inspire Award (V5)
- Judges Award (V5)
- Sportsmanship Award (V5)
- Think Award (V5)