Build Your Own Robot Arm
3D Print It. Build It. Train It.
Ages: 12 and up
Duration: 3 hours/day, 5 days (Monday–Friday)
Max campers: 5 per session (small group, maximum hands-on time)
Price: $250 ($225 early bird by March 15)
Summer 2026 Dates
| Session | Dates | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 8–12 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| 2 | Jul 13–17 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM |
About This Camp
This is the camp where kids 3D print a robot's shell, snap it onto real motors and wiring, and by mid-week have a working robot arm they trained to pick up and place objects.
The SO-ARM100 is an open-source robot arm kit. The motors and wiring come ready to go — campers 3D print the housing, assemble everything, then use a leader-follower setup where one arm mirrors the other in real-time. Kids physically guide the "leader" arm, and the "follower" copies every move. That's how they record demonstrations for the robot to learn from.
By Thursday, the arm is learning to repeat tasks on its own using the Hugging Face LeRobot framework. By Friday, it's sorting blocks, stacking cups, or moving gummy bears into bowls — autonomously.
With only 5 campers per session, everyone has a role during assembly and everyone gets hands-on time training the arm.
What You'll Do Each Day
| Day | Theme | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Print the Shell | What's a robot arm? Explore joints, motors, grippers. Tour the kit parts. Start 3D printing shell pieces. Each camper picks a part to "own." |
| Tuesday | Build the Arm | Snap the printed shell onto the motors. Connect wiring. Attach the gripper. Power it on — first wiggle! Calibrate each joint. You just built a robot. |
| Wednesday | Teach It by Hand | Leader-follower teleoperation — physically guide the leader arm, watch the follower copy in real-time. Record pick-and-place demonstrations. |
| Thursday | Train the Brain | Feed recordings into the Hugging Face LeRobot framework. The arm learns to repeat the task on its own. Tweak and improve — make it faster, more accurate. |
| Friday | Pick & Place Challenge | Fun challenge: the arm must sort colored blocks, stack cups, or move gummy bears — autonomously. Vote on best run. Take-home: a 3D-printed mini gripper you designed. |
What You'll Learn
- 3D printing — design and print real functional parts
- Robot assembly — motors, wiring, calibration
- Teleoperation — controlling a robot by physically guiding it
- Imitation learning — teaching a robot by demonstration
- The Hugging Face LeRobot AI framework
- Iterative engineering — test, fail, improve, repeat
Requirements
- No prior experience required
- Interest in building things and solving problems
- All equipment provided — 3D printers, robot kit, computers, and software are in the lab