Stony Brook Pre-College Programs Introduce High School Students to Robotics and AI
This summer, Associate Professor Anurag Purwar of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University welcomed high
school juniors and seniors to two immersive Pre-College programs designed to introduce
students to the rapidly advancing fields of robotics and artificial intelligence.
The weeklong Robotics Engineering and AI Robotics programs combined hands-on engineering with real-world problem solving, giving students the opportunity to design, build, and program autonomous robots while learning the fundamentals of sensing, perception, actuation, computer vision, and machine learning.
The Robotics Engineering program introduced students to practical electronics, mechanical design, microcontroller programming, and robot motion. Participants explored electronic circuits, linkage mechanisms, sensors, servo and DC motors, Bluetooth communication, and Arduino programming through a project-based curriculum adapted from Stony Brook’s freshman Design Innovation course. Students learned how to design robotic mechanisms, prototype their ideas, and integrate them into autonomous systems.
Designed as a more advanced experience, the AI Robotics program challenged students to build AI-enabled robots from the ground up. Students explored the integration of machine learning with hardware through computer vision, deep learning, and advanced mechatronics. By applying AI algorithms to robotic systems, participants learned how robots can perceive their surroundings, make decisions, and interact with the physical world.
The programs concluded with a head-to-head robotics challenge that brought together concepts from both courses. Student teams programmed their robots to recognize designated objects, control their robotic systems, retrieve identified objects, and return them to a designated home location. The competition tested students’ technical skills while encouraging collaboration, creativity, and innovative problem solving.
Reflecting on the students’ progress throughout the programs, Purwar highlighted the impact of the hands-on learning experience.
“One of the most rewarding parts of these programs was watching students go from learning the basic building blocks of robotics to creating systems that could sense, recognize objects, make decisions, and act on their own. By the end of the week, they were not just following instructions: they were troubleshooting, refining their ideas, and competing with robots they had built and programmed themselves. Seeing that growth in such a short time was incredibly exciting. I hope to see some of these students join SBU and continue their learning here.”
Through Stony Brook’s Pre-College initiative, programs like these provide aspiring engineers with early exposure to cutting-edge technologies while offering students a glimpse into the university’s hands-on approach to engineering education, research, and innovation.