| | INSIDE THE BAY AREA’S PREMIER STEM PREP HUB | May 2026 |
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In two weeks, a world championship comes to UC Berkeley, and Robolabs is the one running it. That is the headline, but not the whole story: we are also launching a new AI Tools program, opening summer camps across all four US centers, and celebrating a standout Class of 2026. Here is the rundown. |
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Worlds Comes to Berkeley! |
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| Mark your calendars: June 12–14, 2026. Robolabs is the official host of the VEX AI Robotics World Championship at UC Berkeley, and this one is special. A world championship does not happen just anywhere. It happens where the robotics community trusts the host to deliver. This year, that host is us.
Here is what makes it big: 56 of the world's top AI teams are converging on Berkeley to compete at the highest level of AI robotics.
We are running it in Pauley Ballroom, on the campus of the #1 public university in the world.
Bob Mimlitch, co-founder and CTO of VEX Robotics, joins us as a guest of honor.
Tesla is on board as a sponsor, with a booth and merch to give away.
And our own Robolabs AI team will compete on the very floor we are organizing. We get to host and contend at once.
VEX AI is one of the most promising frontiers in competitive robotics: fully autonomous robots making real-time decisions on the field, no driver involved. Bringing its world championship to our backyard, and putting a Robolabs team on that floor, says everything about where this community is headed.
Come be part of it. Championship gear will be available on-site, so keep an eye out for our merch. |
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| New Program: AI Tools Coaching |
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| Introducing the Robolabs AI Tools Coaching Program. AI is changing how students learn, create, and build. We want our students to lead that change, not chase it.
This is a six-month online program for students in grades 8 through 12. Over 24 weekly one-hour sessions, students learn to use today's AI tools with skill and good judgment. They will write, research, design, and present with generative AI, put image and video tools to work on real projects, and finish with a capstone that brings it all together.
The goal is practical fluency: students who can use AI responsibly, think critically about it, and get more done. Who: Grades 8–12 Format: Online, one hour per week When: Fridays, 7:00–8:00 PM Starts: Friday, June 5
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| | | | 💡 RoboFacts: What Makes VEX AI Different
The world championship coming to Berkeley has one twist that surprises everyone: there are no drivers.
In regular V5, students pilot their robots with controllers. In VEX AI, the controllers go down. The robots read the field with cameras and sensors and make every move themselves, fully autonomous, start to finish.
What else sets it apart: Two robots per team. Each team fields its own pair, a smaller robot and a larger one, each with a different job. In regular V5, two separate teams pair up instead, one robot each. 15-second Isolation Period. All four robots are on the field, but each team stays on its own half, scoring with no interference. 1:45 Interaction Period. The full field opens up: two robots against two, head to head.
Same students. Same field. Zero joysticks. |
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| VEX AI Summer Academy at UC Berkeley |
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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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| | Summer Camps Are Back, Up to 9 Weeks of Hands-On Fun! |
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Summer at Robolabs means one thing: robots, creativity, and nine weeks of unforgettable learning. From June 8 to August 7, our full- and half-day camps are running across all fours of our locations: Dublin, Fremont, San Jose Steven Creek and Evergreen.
Whether your child is a first-time builder or a seasoned VEX IQ pro, each week offers hands-on engineering, problem-solving, and innovation. Already enrolled? Spread the word. Spots are still available, and it’s a great chance for friends and family to join the fun! |
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| | Class of 2026: Where They're Headed |
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| We could not be prouder of our graduating seniors. The Robolabs Class of 2026 earned admission to 25 of the country's most respected universities, from the Ivy League to the top engineering programs in the nation.
A few highlights: acceptances to Stanford and Yale, a clean sweep across nine University of California campuses, and offers from premier engineering schools including Georgia Tech, Harvey Mudd, Purdue, and UIUC.
Here is where the Class of 2026 is headed:
University of California system: Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Merced
Private universities: Stanford, Yale, USC, Harvey Mudd, Northeastern, RIT
Leading public and engineering universities: Cal Poly, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, Texas A&M, UIUC, University of Washington, Purdue, Virginia Tech, CU Boulder, Pittsburgh
These results reflect years of curiosity, hard work, and late nights in the lab. To every senior moving on: you built more than robots here. Congratulations, and go make something. |
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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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