Innovators
The foundation your Future Roboticist needs.
Now registering for Fall 2025.
Overview
The Innovators program empowers students in grades 7–8 to take their robotics and programming skills to the next level. Designed for independent thinkers and creative problem-solvers, this course introduces more advanced topics such as sensors, control logic, and drone programming. Innovators aren't just building robots—they’re learning to design intelligent systems that can interact with the world, solve real problems, and spark future innovation.
Program Details
The 3-month course meets once per week for one hour and is tailored for students with prior exposure to programming or robotics (such as through the Builders course or similar experience). The curriculum introduces students to microcontrollers, automation, and basic Artificial Intelligence (AI) logic. They'll experiment with both physical and virtual environments, program drones or robotic arms, and develop a final capstone project focused on solving a real-world challenge. Emphasis is placed on teamwork, creative design, and iteration—helping students learn not just how to build, but how to innovate.
Your Innovator will learn…
Foundations of AI in Robotics
Week 1: What Makes a Robot "Smart"? – Intro to AI, automation & learning
Week 2: Microcontrollers & Inputs – Programming with Arduino/micro:bit
Week 3: Smart Sensing – Using distance, sound, and light sensors for interaction
Week 4: Project Build: A robot that reacts to the environment (e.g., follows voice or avoids objects)
Algorithms, Logic & Machine-Like Thinking
Week 5: Conditionals & Logic – Building "if-then" intelligence
Week 6: AI Concepts: Pattern Recognition – How computers “see” or “hear” things
Week 7: Intro to Machine Learning (via image or voice classifiers using tools like Teachable Machine)
Week 8: AI Project #1: Train a simple image or sound recognition model and use it to control a robot
Design Think + AI for Good
Week 9: AI in the Real World – Ethics, bias, and how AI is used today
Week 10: Innovation Sprint – Students choose a real-world problem to solve using robotics and/or AI
Week 11: Build, Train, Refine – Combine hardware and simple AI models in teams
Week 12: Capstone Showcase – Present functional AI-powered robotics solutions to friends, family, and community
