| | INSIDE THE BAY AREA’S PREMIER STEM PREP HUB | February 2026 |
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| | A Decade in the Making: Ten Years, Five Centers |
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Ten years in, and we have never had more to share. This edition of RoboRumbles is packed: we're celebrating the opening of our San Jose Evergreen center, taking a first look back at a decade of Robolabs, and looking ahead to a season full of momentum. Our teams are competing, qualifying, and building robots headed to the World Championship — one we happen to be hosting. Summer Academy applications are open. Demo Day is around the corner. And our AI team is just getting started. Let's get into it. |
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We're Open in San Jose Evergreen! |
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The doors are open, the students are in, and the energy is exactly what we hoped for. Our San Jose Evergreen center officially launched with an opening ceremony filled with gratitude, excitement, and a real sense of community. Early supporters, family, friends, and people who have been with us since the beginning all showed up — and it made the moment feel as meaningful as it was celebratory. It was a chance to pause, appreciate the journey, and share it with the people who made it possible. And now the best part: classes are already underway, and we are so proud to finally be serving this part of the South Bay. If you know any families in the area who would be a great fit, please pass the word along. We'd love to welcome them. |
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Robolabs turns 10 this year, and what better moment to look back at the journey that brought us here. It has been full of firsts, full of learning on the fly, and more than a few moments of jumping in before we felt ready. That's the whole point — it's the same thing we ask our students to do every single day in class: try it, build it, figure it out as you go. |
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| Summer 2016 - Where it All Began |
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The photos above tell the story. A summer camp experiment in Sasi's and Chitra’s living room. Then a small center, a first tournament, a first Signature Event. And now, as we open San Jose Evergreen, we also welcome our first student in Chennai, India. Five centers. A decade of learning. And we're just getting started. The 10-year anniversary will be a thread running through the newsletter all year — this is just the beginning. |
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February was a full sprint. Robolabs hosted three events — nearly one every weekend of the month — and our team ran every single one of them from the ground up. On top of the logistics, our student teams showed up and delivered: multiple teams walked away with awards, and many have now qualified for the State Championship. The collage says it all. We're proud of everyone who competed, and even prouder of the team behind the scenes that made it all happen. |
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| Last Chance to Leave It All on the Field |
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Mark your calendars: Demo Day returns on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Teams from Dublin, Fremont, and both San Jose locations will face off in an exclusive, end-of-season showdown - one final battle before the new challenge is released.
Unlike traditional tournaments, Demo Day is one of the only VEX events in the world that offers cash prizes, raising the competitive stakes and adding an extra layer of excitement to the field.
Prize Breakdown
VEX VRC
🏆 Tournament Champions: $1,000 total ($500 per winner)
🥈 Tournament Finalists: $500 total ($250 per winner)
⚙ Robot Skills Champion: $500 total ($300 for 1st, $200 for 2nd)
VEX IQ
🏆 Teamwork Champions: $500 total ($250 per winner)
🥈 Teamwork Second Place: $250 total ($125 per winner)
⚙ Robot Skills Champion: $250 total ($150 for 1st, $100 for 2nd)
All Robolabs teams are already registered - no additional sign-up required. The focus now is preparation: refine your design, sharpen your skills, and get ready. Demo Day consistently delivers high energy, creative strategy, and intense final matches. We’re looking forward to seeing how teams close out the year. |
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| | | 💡 RoboFact: For 10 years in a row, Robolabs has had teams qualify for the VEX World Championship
The VEX Robotics World Championship is the largest robotics competition in the world — more than 2,400 teams from over 60 countries converging in one place to compete at the highest level. It has traveled from Los Angeles to Louisville to Dallas, and this coming season it heads to St. Louis, Missouri for the first time. It's also the moment the entire robotics community looks forward to: the reveal of the brand new season challenge, announced at Worlds every year. For a decade straight, Robolabs has had representation on that floor — and we're not planning to stop anytime soon. |
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| One Week. UC Berkeley. A Program Unlike Any Other. |
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Summer program season is here, and if your student is serious about robotics and AI, we want to make sure this is on your radar. The Robolabs VEX AI Summer Academy at UC Berkeley is back this July — and we genuinely don't know of another week-long program that covers this much ground.
The curriculum goes deep: machine learning fundamentals, neural networks, computer vision, autonomous robotics, and all the way into transformer architectures and how LLMs fit into the world of self-driving robots. Students work hands-on with NVIDIA Jetson processors and Intel RealSense cameras, and hear from industry speakers from places like Amazon, Tesla, and Google. All of it set on the campus of the number one public university in the world.
Beyond the lab, students live in UC Berkeley dorms, dine on campus, and explore the Bay Area with trips to San Francisco and Silicon Valley. It's part summer camp, part college preview, part technical bootcamp |
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The AI Team is Building for Worlds — And You Can Still Join |
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Our VEX AI team is deep in build season. Right now, students are actively developing the two fully autonomous robots that will represent Robolabs at the VEX AI World Championship this June. If your student has ever been curious about autonomous systems, AI, or competitive robotics at the highest level, there is still time to join the team and be part of it.
Who can join: Students 7th grade and above. No prior VEX AI experience needed — just curiosity and commitment.
What they'll work with: Fully autonomous robots powered by NVIDIA Jetson, Intel RealSense, and VEX GPS, competing in 2-minute AI-only matches.
Available in Dublin, San Jose, and Fremont. |
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Mark your calendars. On June 12–14, 2026, Robolabs will be the official host of the VEX AI World Championship at UC Berkeley. This is one of the most prestigious events in competitive robotics, and it is coming to our backyard. Our AI team will be competing on the very floor we are organizing, which makes this moment extra meaningful. More details to come. |
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| | Your Competition Calendar |
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| Tournament season is in full swing with VEX IQ and V5 events scheduled through December. Circle these dates and get ready - every tournament is a chance to qualify for states! |
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| | Hands-on and immersive VEX and FIRST Robotics for kindergarten - 12th grade. |
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| | Fun, and valuable Robotics learning over a break. For students from 1st to 12th grade. |
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| | Journey to become a high-school author and inventor! |
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| | Leverage the entirety of Robolabs to get you into your dream college. |
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| Summer Academy at UC Berkeley |
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| Explore AI and robotics at UC Berkeley with expert mentors. |
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| | Design and code real-world apps from scratch. |
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| | Master SolidWorks & Onshape to design real robotics parts. |
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| | Create, prototype, and build your own product with 3D printing and CNC milling. |
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| | DUBLIN ROBOTICS CLUB, ROBOLABS DUBLIN |
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