MIT House Battle 2026

The third annual MIT Combat Robotics House Battle will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2026 in the first floor of the new Metropolitan Warehouse (134 Massachusetts Avenue) on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Full-day schedule:

• 8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. — Builder check-in, pit load-in, and robot safety inspections
• 9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. — MANDATORY competitors’ meeting
• 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. — Fights
• 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. — Lunch break
• 2:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. — Fights
• 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. — Awards ceremony

Registration fee: $35 per robot

Dropout deadline: Selected competitors may drop from the event without penalty before Saturday, November 7th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. The full registration fee will be refunded. Selected competitors who drop after the deadline will not receive a refund. Please notify the event organizers as soon as possible so we can offer your spot to a robot on the waitlist.

Arenas:

• Antweights: 4 × 4 ft arena
• Beetleweights: 6 × 6 ft arena
• Plywood floors

Weight bonuses:

• Non-Traditional Locomotion (Including Shufflers): 1.5× — 4.5 lb for beetleweights; 1.5 lb for antweights
• True walker: 2× — 6 lb for beetleweights; 2 lb for antweights
• Multi: 1.33× — 2 lb per half for beetleweights; 0.66 lb per half for antweights. For robots with up to four segments, the maximum segment weight is the total weight allowance divided by the number of segments.

NTL is defined according to NHRL’s definition:
https://wiki.nhrl.io/wiki/index.php?title=NHRL_Open_Rules_-_2025#Non-Traditional_Locomotion_Definition

All robots must have an active weapon (actuated lifters/flippers qualify).

Matches: 3-minute matches with 10-second pins. One unstick is allowed using a broom.