Subjects Robotics Robotic ArmRobotics 10 to 17 · Course 4 of 5
Robotic Arm
Rank earned: 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.
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.
Enrol now, from Course 1Every Robocoder starts at Course 1: Shadow Runner, and their Mentor moves them on.
- 01 Shadow Runner Circuit Builder
- 02 Line Racer Sensor Technician
- 03 Gyro Elevator Systems Engineer
- 04 Robotic Arm Control Specialist
- 05 Drone Flight Engineer
The 8 modules
What your child learns, in order, as they build the Robotic Arm.
- 1
Raspberry Pi and GPIO
Setting up a Raspberry Pi, and using code to control what it switches on.
- 2
OLED display and I2C
How data travels to a small screen along a two-wire link.
- 3
Pi camera and shape detection
Teaching the camera to recognise shapes.
- 4
ESP32 and joystick mapping
Turning a joystick’s movement into control of the arm.
- 5
Onshape CAD modelling
Designing parts on screen, ready to make.
- 6
Mechanical design
Designing the arm’s structure from parts that fit together.
- 7
Assembly and motion calibration
Building the arm and tuning how it moves.
- 8
Networked devices
Making several devices work together over a network.
Made by Robocoders
Real projects from our Studio Labs, as they were built.
- A Raspberry Pi robot with its own screen and camera
- A robotic arm, built and wired by a Robocoder
- A robot with a 3D-printed body, opened up to show its wiring
- Shadow Runner, reacting to a torch on its own
Skills built
- Onshape CAD
- Raspberry Pi
- Linux (SSH, VNC)
- Python
- Computer vision
See classes at your centre
Which centre is nearest to you?
No centre has a class for Robotic Arm open right now. See every centre
The certificate
Given at the end of the course, printed and by email.
Your Robocoder Robotics Course 4: Robotic Arm Your centre manager 2 November 2026 The real certificate, printed and emailed: your child's name, the course, the date, and their centre manager's name.The badge book
Every Robocoder aged 10 to 17 keeps an Academy Logbook. The Robocode stamp goes in it for each achievement, and a photo of each course’s project goes in its portfolio.
A Robocoder’s badge book is also a portfolio of the real projects they have built, to use later in life.
Robotics Level 2 Thinking as a Coder
Awarded by passing the BCS Level 2 exam for Thinking as a Coder
Master Engineer
Awarded by completing all Robotics courses
The page shown is the Achievements page of the Academy Logbook.
Next on the ladder
Course 5: Drone
Rank: Flight Engineer
Robotics 10 to 17
From £106.25 a month + £40 joining fee
- Ages 10 to 17
- Weekly, in person, in small groups
- 8 modules
- Kits available to buy
- Rank: Control Specialist
New to Robocode? Every Robocoder starts at Course 1: Shadow Runner , and their Mentor moves them on.
Enrol now, from Course 1 Book a Free Tech AssessmentRelated subjects
Many Robocoders take two. These sit closest to this one.
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