Code
The Code Behind the Robot
Every move the robot makes starts as real Python code written by students in the same tool professional engineers use every day.
Hands-On Robotics and AI
Build Your Own
AI-Powered Robot
Students build, program, and take home a real PiCar-X robot powered by Raspberry Pi, from first line of code to final test drive.
ages 8–14No experience required1:8 instructor-to-student ratioHands-on, project-basedTake-home robotDates: July 6 – July 17, 2026Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
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Real Outcomes
What Your Child
Will Build
Students will design and build a fully functional robot from the ground up, including:
Robotic Vehicle
A working vehicle, students drive through their own code.
Line-Following
Line-following logic that lets the robot navigate on its own.
Obstacle Detection
Ultrasonic sensors let the robot detect and react to obstacles.
Autonomous Behavior
Decision-making behavior is based on what the robot senses.
At the end of the camp, students take their robots home.
Quick Previews
Promo
Videos
Watch what kids can really do with a PiCar. These are my three children, Simon, Samuel and Summer, programming an autonomous robot in Python, the same robot your child will build at camp.
Quick Previews
Inside Our Summer 2026 Tech Camp at Southwestern College
Get a look at the camps coming to Southwestern College in Chula Vista, where students program robots, build real systems with Python and AI, and work in a professional college classroom designed to inspire the next generation of engineers. Taught by a college professor with 16+ years of real engineering experience, for ages 8 to 14.
Quick Previews
PiCar Face Recognition
The PiCar plays a game called "Hello" with Summer, Samuel and Simon. It uses its camera and AI to recognize each kid's face and greet them by name.
Quick Previews
PiCar Bullfight
Samuel is testing the PiCar Bullfight program. The PiCar uses its camera to detect an orange cone, then charges toward it on its own like a bull at a matador's cape. The program is written in Python, and students will write programs like this at camp.
Quick Previews
Summer Learns the Commands That Run Every Program
Watch Summer create folders, write files, and use terminal commands to organize a real project. Before students write their first line of code, they learn the same tools every real engineer uses, the foundation behind every program built at camp.
Original Productions
From Our
Studio
We produce all of our own characters, curriculum, and content in-house. Meet Korra, Korra Jr., and the Development Team.
Inside the Curriculum
The History of Computers
From room-sized vacuum tubes to the AI we use today. Korra Jr. walks students through five generations of computing innovation.
Inside the Curriculum
Meet Korra
The AI learning assistant that guides students as they build real technology with Python, robotics, and AI.
Inside the Curriculum
Meet the Development Team
These are the twelve roles involved in building real software, and the twelve roles students will learn to take on.
Curriculum
What Students
Learn
Students are introduced to the core concepts behind modern robotics and intelligent systems:
Python Programming
Python programming to control a self-driving robot
Control
How software controls physical systems
Sensors
How sensors collect and process data
AI Logic
Basic AI logic and decision-making
Real Engineering
Built with Real Technology
Not Toys
Beyond theory, students design, program, and test a working robot. The PiCar-X is a real programmable robot car that moves, sees, and talks. Every feature on this page was programmed by students, from the ground up. And at the end of camp, they take it home.
Hardware
The Brain of the Robot
A real Raspberry Pi runs the code, reads the sensors, and controls all the motors. Students program the same board that professional engineers build.
Movement
The Robot in Action
The PiCar-X moves, reacts, and makes decisions on its own, powered entirely by code the students wrote. Not a demo. Their robot is running their instructions.
AI
AI Features
Students program the robot to recognize colors, faces, cliff edges, QR codes, and gestures using real computer vision on the Raspberry Pi.
This is a real engineering system — adapted for students.
The Big Picture
Why This
Matters
Most "robotics for kids" hands students a controller. They drive a pre-built toy, the code stays hidden, and the value ends when camp does.
PiCar is different. Students program the robot themselves, in Python on a real Raspberry Pi. They write the recognition logic, tune the autonomous behaviors, and watch the car respond to the world it was trained to see. The robot they take home runs on the code they wrote.
Students will leave camp as builders of real robots,
not just the drivers of them.
Structure
How the Camp
Works
Core hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (extended hours available for an additional fee)
Class Size
1:8 instructor-to-student ratio · maximum 40 students
Method
Step-by-step guided build process
Pace
Hands-on learning every day
Support
Direct support from an experienced instructor
+
Tuition
=Registration Fee
$50
(due at sign-up)
Remaining Balance
$900
charged July 1, 2026
Total
$950
($475/wk × 2 weeks)
Discounts
Available
10% OFF
Military families, veterans & first responders
15% OFF
Sibling discount
Discounts do not stack. Only one discount applies per enrollment, whichever is greater.
Audience
Who This Camp
Is For
Ages
ages 8–14
Experience
Beginners with no prior experience
Interest
Robots, coding, or technology
Your Instructor
Taught by a
Real Engineer
Taught by a college professor, a university lecturer, and an engineer
SWC: Programming, Computer Organization, and Architecture
SDSU: Microprocessors
16+ years of real-world engineering experience
NIWC Pacific, unmanned systems, software design
Students use real tools and technologies
Python, Docker, Raspberry Pi, networking
University-level concepts adapted for students ages 8–14
Rigorous curriculum, not watered-down activities
Students are learning how real robots are built — from someone who builds them professionally.
Give Your Child a Head Start in Technology
Spots are limited. Programs fill quickly.
Register NowSummer 2026 · Hosted at Southwestern Community College · Chula Vista, CA · ages 8–14