Subjects RoboticsRobotics for ages 6 to 17
Real robots, from a single sensor to an autonomous drone at Robocode centres.
Ages 6 to 17 · Two pathways · Kits available to buy
Enrol now Book a Free Tech Assessment Free. No obligation to enrol.From £106.25 a month + £40 joining fee
Final achievement: Master Engineer Awarded by completing all Robotics courses
Robotics 6 to 9
Real circuits. Real devices.
One course of ten modules, a new project each month. Every project is a working device your child builds and tests, with a Skill Badge earned when it is finished.
Enrol now View the course One course · 10 modules · Ages 6 to 9
From £106.25 a month + £40 joining fee
- 01 Operation Electro Surgeon The classic Operation game, wired with 3D-printed organs and a buzzer.
- 02 Traffic Traffic Engineer A robot car with a working LED traffic-light system, on a controller.
- 03 Plant Robotany A mini terrarium with a humidity sensor and a water pump.
- 04 Logic Logic Master Logic gates first in Minecraft, then recreated on a breadboard.
- 05 Spy Robo Spy A door alarm, a UV-ink pen, and Morse code sent with an LED.
- 06 Dinosaur Dinobot A robot that plays the Chrome dinosaur game by itself.
- 07 Sound Sound Engineer A programmable sound keyboard, with notes and pitch.
- 08 House Smart Home Automatic lights, doors, and a doorbell with text input.
- 09 Motion Motion Master Motion games using an accelerometer for tilt and rotation.
- 10 Drawing Electro Sketch A drawing robot that coordinates motors, with an infrared remote.
Skills built
- Circuits
- Conductivity
- LEDs
- Buzzers
- Servos
- Sensors
- Microcontrollers
- Beginner CAD
- 3D printing
- Logic gates
- Encryption
- Morse code
Robotics 10 to 17
Five courses, from a first circuit to a drone
Five courses, each with its own modules and a working robot at the end of it. Each course earns a rank, and two of them lead to a BCS qualification.
- 01 Shadow Runner Circuit Builder
- 02 Line Racer Sensor Technician
- 03 Gyro Elevator Systems Engineer
- 04 Robotic Arm Control Specialist
- 05 Drone Flight Engineer
Languages
M-Block, then C++ on the robot’s own controller, then full C++
Final achievement
Master Engineer
Awarded by completing all Robotics courses
Every Robocoder starts at Course 1.
Enrol now- Course 1 of 5
Shadow Runner
Rank: Circuit Builder
A purely electronic robot, no programming. Using an infrared sensor and a voltage divider, it reacts to light on its own: the first example of AI in the course, a machine that senses and decides with no code at all.
- Circuits
- Breadboarding
- LEDs
- Voltage dividers
- Infrared sensors
7 modules
- 1 Electrical flow and polarity
- 2 Voltage and control
- 3 Resistance and current
- 4 Series and parallel circuits
- 5 Motor control logic
- 6 Light sensors and feedback
- 7 Feedback and control loops
- Course 2 of 5
Line Racer
Rank: Sensor Technician
A robot with two infrared sensors that read reflected light and follow a line. This is the practical task of the BCS Level 1 Robotics Award, taught in M-Block, the same software used in the exam.
- Line tracking
- M-Block
- Motor control
- Sensor calibration
Leads to the BCS Level 1 Robotics Award (at centres that offer it)
7 modules
- 1 Motor speed and PWM
- 2 Sensor calibration
- 3 Decision logic
- 4 Turning and balance
- 5 System integration
- 6 Optimising performance
- 7 Autonomous navigation
- Course 3 of 5
Gyro Elevator
Rank: Systems Engineer
An elevator controlled wirelessly over radio, using two circuits: a sender and a receiver. The sender has an accelerometer that detects tilt. This is where Robocoders move from block coding to writing real C++ on the robot's own controller.
- Accelerometers
- Wireless and radio
- C++ on the controller
- Two-circuit design
7 modules
- 1 Understanding digital signals
- 2 Reading sensor data
- 3 Displaying information
- 4 Wireless communication
- 5 Combining systems
- 6 Motion maze
- 7 Automation and decision making
- Course 4 of 5
Robotic Arm
Rank: Control Specialist
Robotic automation, the heart of real-world robotics. Robocoders do their first proper CAD in Onshape, designing their own parts, meet the Raspberry Pi, and give the arm a camera to detect objects.
- Onshape CAD
- Raspberry Pi
- Linux (SSH, VNC)
- Python
- Computer vision
Leads to the BCS Level 2 Thinking as a Coder (at centres that offer it)
Or after Game Development Course 4. Sat once, from either.
8 modules
- 1 Raspberry Pi and GPIO
- 2 OLED display and I2C
- 3 Pi camera and shape detection
- 4 ESP32 and joystick mapping
- 5 Onshape CAD modelling
- 6 Mechanical design
- 7 Assembly and motion calibration
- 8 Networked devices
- Course 5 of 5
The capstone
Drone
Rank: Flight Engineer
Robocoders design a printed circuit board and make their own, build a drone, and finish with an autonomous hover and a self-flown surveillance route. By the end, they write full C++.
- PCB design
- PCB fabrication
- Time-of-flight
- Optical flow
8 modules
- 1 Design a circuit board
- 2 Make the board
- 3 First flight
- 4 A better motion sensor
- 5 Time-of-flight laser
- 6 Optical-flow camera
- 7 The flight app
- 8 Autonomous flight
Qualifications along the way
Named, recognised qualifications, sat at centres that offer them. Each centre's page says which exams it runs.
BCS Level 1 Robotics Award
After Course 2: Line Racer
At centres that offer it
BCS Level 2 Thinking as a Coder
After Course 4: Robotic Arm
Or after Game Development Course 4. Sat once, from either.
At centres that offer it
Related subjects
Many Robocoders take two. These sit closest to this one.
All subjects