Southwest Robotics Symposium 2026

The 2026 symposium takes place at ASU Memorial Union in Tempe, Arizona.

The audience includes robotics researchers, students, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, policy makers, nonprofit organizations, designers, human factors specialists, and members of the public.

It is most useful for robotics researchers, students and early-stage entrepreneurs who want a cross-disciplinary regional gathering, given the space-focused theme of Robotics for Extreme Environments and an attendee mix spanning researchers, industry, educators and investors. Engineers seeking deep technical content or large-scale vendor sourcing would likely find more at a major robotics conference, since this one is held on a university campus and is open to the general public and non-profits.

Attendees at academic robotics symposiums typically wear casual or smart casual clothes, such as jeans or slacks with a polo or button-down, with presenters a step up. Tempe is warm in early November, so light layers and comfortable shoes for walking around campus suit the setting.