Preparing youth for an automated world

The jobs of tomorrow run on robotics, AI & automation. Most kids never get to touch them.

RoboLabWorks turns intimidating technology into a hands-on playground — so every young person can design, build, and test robots and learn the skills the future workforce already demands.

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Workforce Development STEM Equity K-12 Robotics AI Literacy Career Readiness

The Need

The opportunity gap is widening — fast

Automation and AI are reshaping nearly every industry. The students who learn to design and command these systems will lead the next economy. The ones without access will be left behind.

Automation is everywhere

Manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and logistics increasingly run on robotics and AI.

A real skills gap

Employers need people fluent in robotics, AI, and automation faster than schools can teach it.

Access isn't equal

Students in under-resourced schools rarely get hands-on robotics — and untapped talent goes undiscovered.

Curiosity fades early

Without engaging, low-barrier entry points, too many kids count themselves out of STEM before they begin.

These aren't future jobs. They're today's jobs.

Robotics technicians, automation engineers, AI operators, and the trades that maintain them are in demand right now — and demand is accelerating. Giving young people real exposure today is how we build a workforce that's ready, and a generation that sees itself in these careers.

Our Solution

A robotics lab in every browser

RoboLabWorks is an interactive, low-barrier platform where students design a robot across six engineering systems, deploy it into real-world missions, and learn the tradeoffs real engineers face — no expensive kit required to start.

Design like an engineer

Controllers, sensors, actuators, tools, locomotion, and power — every choice changes how the robot performs.

Solve real missions

Earthquake rescue, Mars sample return, smart farming, factory automation, and more.

Learn from feedback

Designs are scored on task, energy, cost, speed, and reliability — teaching authentic tradeoff analysis.

Try the live platform — free, in any browser.

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How it works

Build → Deploy → Iterate

Design

Students pick parts across six systems and watch their robot come together live.

Deploy

They take it into an engineering mission with real objectives and obstacles.

Score & iterate

Instant feedback shows what worked and what didn't — so they redesign and improve.

Impact

Built for the classrooms that need it most

RoboLabWorks is designed to lower every barrier — cost, hardware, and confidence — so robotics education can reach students who have never had access to it.

Classrooms & programs

A ready-to-use tool for teachers, after-school programs, libraries, and community organizations.

Equity first

Browser-based and low-cost by design — meeting under-resourced and rural communities where they are.

Pathways to careers

Sparks early interest and builds the foundation for robotics, AI, and automation careers.

The Founder & The Vision

A mission to put robotics in every student's hands

RoboLabWorks exists for one reason: so that every young person — not just the few with expensive kits and well-funded labs — can discover what it feels like to build something intelligent, and see a future for themselves in it.

Dr. Carlotta A. Berry, founder of RoboLabWorks — Photo: Bryan Cantwell · CC BY-SA 4.0

That mission is the life's work of founder Dr. Carlotta A. Berry — Lawrence J. Giacoletto Endowed Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, co-director of its multidisciplinary robotics program, and founder of NoireSTEMinist.

A 2024 Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree in Innovation and an IEEE Education Society Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. Berry has spent her career making sure more students — especially those too often left out of STEM — see themselves as engineers, builders, and inventors. Learn more ▸

“Bringing robotics to the streets with low-cost, modular, open-source robots.” — Dr. Carlotta A. Berry, founder of NoireSTEMinist

The Partnership

Why Dr. Berry chose OnticWorks.io to build it

Reaching every student takes more than a great idea — it takes an engineering partner who shares the mission. Dr. Berry partnered with OnticWorks.io (Ontic Studios), whose purpose — “Engineering Intelligence. Empowering Impact.” — is the same as hers: put powerful technology in the hands of the people too often left out, starting with students.

One shared mission: the students

Both believe access to robotics and AI should be a right for every learner — not a privilege for a few.

Educator-led, engineer-built

Dr. Berry's classroom expertise guides every decision; OnticWorks builds it into a platform any student can open in a browser.

Built to reach more kids

Low-cost and scalable by design — so the next funded classroom of students is always within reach.

Partner With Us

Put robotics, AI & automation in a student's hands

Every gift goes straight to the students. We're seeking grants, sponsors, and district partners to reach young people who have never had access to robotics, AI, and automation — and show them a future they can build.

Free classroom access
Bring the platform to schools and programs at no cost to students.

Curriculum & missions
Fund new engineering challenges and teacher resources.

Reach & equity
Expand into under-resourced and rural communities.

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