Breaking Ground Missions Released for 2027 Illinois State Robotics Championship
CFI Robotics Staff
Nov 3, 2026
Student input, creative engineering, and more ways to participate shape a new season led by CFI Robotics in partnership with Illinois 4-H.
The Open Table Missions for the 2027 Illinois State Robotics Championship are now available, giving teams their first opportunity to explore the challenges at the center of this year’s “Breaking Ground” season.
Released November 1, the missions invite students to design and build construction-themed challenges, then develop autonomous robots to complete them. This season places greater emphasis on the engineering and creativity of the mission models themselves, alongside robot design, programming and teamwork.
The 20 missions connect robotics to projects like preparing an elementary school construction site, restoring a native prairie, building a bridge and connecting an airport jet bridge to an aircraft. Other challenges explore renewable energy, emergency communications and the reclamation of a former quarry. Teams construct their mission models following the published requirements, with room to develop their own engineering solutions.
For Brian Meadows Jr., executive director of CFI Robotics, the theme also describes the work behind the Championship. Formerly known as the Illinois 4-H Robotics Competition, the event is entering a new chapter with CFI Robotics leading the development of an expanded competition structure in partnership with Illinois 4-H.
“We are building something new,” Meadows said.
That work includes new challenges, changes shaped by returning teams, and more ways for students to participate, whether they prepare throughout the season or join a robotics challenge on competition day.
The Open Table Mission remains the Championship’s core competition. Teams build their mission models, develop their robot and strategy, and prepare to explain their engineering decisions to judges. This year, how students design those missions will have a more visible place in their scores.
Many missions include a five-point Real-World Presentation Bonus, which Meadows described as a way to reward creative models that realistically represent the season’s projects. The Theme Decoration mission separately awards 10 points for one robot reflecting the annual theme, or 20 points for two robots. Selected missions also offer a Two-Robot Coordination Bonus, giving teams another consideration as they develop their strategy.
Mission design will also be represented in the design presentation, allowing students to explain the mechanisms, choices, and problem-solving behind the field they have built.
Teamwork will be evaluated during the design presentation and table runs, bringing that assessment into activities teams are already completing. Meadows said combining those evaluations and releasing missions before January were the two changes most frequently requested by competitors last year.
The missions were developed by the Technical and Judging Committee, which brought together former team leaders, CFI Board President Ren Li and students with experience competing and helping design competitions.
Among the student representatives was Luke He, who developed the RoboSumo challenge while he was in middle school and currently attends Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Student committee members adjusted and rebuilt challenges to make them more approachable while preserving the engineering work expected of teams.
The released Official Missions and Scoring document is version six, but Meadows said that number captures only the written drafts. The committee discussed, examined, and tested the challenges through a longer development process before publication.
Questions from teams will continue to be part of that process. The Technical and Judging Committee will review questions and feedback, with official decisions and clarifications published for all teams on the Official Season Updates page.
“If you see a problem, let us know, and it’ll be addressed,” Meadows said.
The expanded Championship offers several ways to take part. Open Table Mission provides a season of team preparation, while the new Pathfinder challenge gives smaller teams and individual competitors an autonomous line-following event to prepare for. RoboSumo continues as an option for students who want to compete on the day of the event.
CFI Robotics previously partnered with Illinois 4-H to bring RoboSumo to the competition, where it became an official component last season. The 2027 program also introduces Hackathon, Esports, and Youth Academic Research Journal opportunities, extending participation to students with interests across STEAM.
For teams preparing for Open Table Mission, Meadows recommends using the early release to build skills before beginning intensive mission development. His suggested preparation timeline runs from organizing teams in November through final rehearsals in May:
Month | Suggested focus |
November | Read and understand the missions, form teams, determine the appropriate division, and explore robot platforms. Begin building students’ robotics skills. |
December | Choose a platform and build a foundation in sensors, programming, autonomous navigation, and line following. Adult team leaders should study the rules and prepare to support students’ questions. |
January | Develop a mission strategy, select challenges, and begin prototyping to explore how the robot could solve them. |
February | Build mission models and robot mechanisms together, developing the programming needed to make both work reliably. |
March | Test, revise and practice repeatedly. Refine the strategy and prepare the design presentation. |
April | Focus on reliability and repeatability. Run a mock competition, rehearse presentations, and use the planned Northern Showcase to gain competition experience. |
May | Complete final testing and rehearsals. Prepare spare parts and plan for problems that could arise during competition. |
That timeline is a preparation recommendation. Meadows encourages teams to develop their robots and mission models together, making choices that reflect students’ current skills and what they are ready to learn.
A team still developing its programming skills might put more mechanical work into a mission model. A team with stronger autonomous control might ask its robot to do more of the work. In either case, students can explore how the engineering of the robot and the mission interact to produce a successful run.
Students who do not yet have a team can start by finding friends with a shared goal and an adult willing to help organize their work. Parents, teachers and club leaders can help establish a team through a school or community group. Families can also contact Illinois 4-H, a school’s STEM teacher or CFI Robotics for help finding connections. Teams with openings are encouraged to let their communities know and use the Illinois Robotics Facebook page to connect with interested families.
In Chicago, CFI Robotics will begin community team programs in January at its Bridgeport center. The programs will provide space for teams to practice, opportunities to learn with CFI staff, and guidance to help parents, volunteers, and team coaches build their own skills and keep students on track. CFI is also exploring a similar program in Blue Island.
Adults can learn alongside the students, Meadows emphasized. Their role is to help make the program possible while students take responsibility for researching, building and developing their solutions.
“It’s okay for you to not have all the answers,” he said.
Championship registration will open once event locations are finalized, with judging rubrics released at the same time. The online competition will open alongside registration for the in-person events, providing a pathway for teams across the United States and internationally. Meadows said international teams have already confirmed plans to participate.
Top teams from the Northern Illinois, Central Illinois and online competitions will be invited to the Summer Invitational on July 25, 2027, in the Chicago region. Venue details will be announced as they are confirmed.
An April Northern Showcase is also planned to give students a chance to test their robots and presentations in a competition setting. Information sessions are planned for December and January, followed by support calls for adult team leaders in February, March, and April.
For Meadows, the value of that preparation extends into students’ lives. As a student, he attended a world-level robotics competition that convinced him to pursue STEM in college. He has also seen friends carry hands-on robot-building skills into trade school.
“Competitive robotics changed my life,” he said.
He hopes this season gives students similar opportunities to discover their interests, build confidence and set goals. Presentations give them practice explaining their work and recognizing the contributions of their teammates and communities. Programming, building, design and repeated testing give them ways to apply their knowledge and explore unfamiliar skills. Recognition for community outreach and volunteer service gives teams additional goals throughout the season.
“It teaches them to celebrate intellectual success, to celebrate their education, celebrate their effort and their work,” Meadows said.
Teams can begin by reading the released Official Missions and Scoring document together with the Open Table Mission Rulebook and Championship General Rules on the Team Resources page. Families, schools, and community groups can join the Championship interest list for announcements.