This summer, the UCR Library hosted its second annual summer Robotics Camp, held June 16 to July 18, 2025.

The camp, led by Maker Services Coordinator Brendon Wheeler and Innovative Media Librarian Alvaro Alvarez, brought together undergraduate students from across university disciplines to explore 3D modeling, coding, and robotics in a collaborative, hands-on environment.

Participants at this year’s camp gained hands-on experience with 3D modeling to create prototypes and programmed their robots using Python and C++. As part of the project, they built an Artificial Intelligence Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) capable of identifying red, green, and yellow signals. This in turn activated motors to mimic Mario Kart–inspired power-ups such as banana peels, mushrooms, and shells.

Innovative Media Librarian Alvaro Alvarez supported workshops and presented on Fusion 360 and 3D modeling. Alvaro noted the camp offered a richer curriculum comparatively. “I think overall it had higher quality content compared to last year and very useful for future projects and majors as it combined both robotics with AI,” he said.

Maker Services Coordinator Brendon Wheeler, who acted as the camp’s project manager and guided student participants through the development cycle, emphasized this year’s camp also deepened engagement. “This year our camp featured hands-on coding, robot 3D printer customization, and AI. Unlike last year, where students uploaded pre-written code, this camp emphasized critical thinking and higher levels of design. The curriculum was notably improved, fostering creativity and deeper engagement,” he explained.

A total of 26 students signed up for the camp, with participation highest in the first few weeks with 45% taking part from non-STEM majors, reflecting the camp’s interdisciplinary appeal.

Alvaro and Brendon confirmed that the camp will continue in the future. There are hopes to expand by including a K-12 camp and partnering with our community and a local school next year. The team also plans on designing next year’s summer camp with a more flexible schedule in the hopes of attracting more students.

Through programs like the open interdisciplinary Robotics Camp for wider university audiences, UCR Library continues to inspire curiosity, support creativity, and provide amazing opportunities for students to explore new technologies that will serve them well at UCR and beyond.