K-12 robotics FAQ

True Robotics is a K-12 educational robotics company based in Massachusetts, founded in 2021 so every student can learn with robots, not just the top 10 to 20 percent. We bring your school reusable robot kits, a grab-and-go curriculum for every grade, and one-on-one teacher training. Our programs are Paving the Way with Treads for grades K-3, Taking Off with Pilot for grades 3-5, Introduction to Robotics with Axle for grades 6-8, and Medical Robotics for grades 8-12. We have served more than 42,000 students and delivered more than 2,900 robots.

At True Robotics, we work with teachers and school leaders in schools across the country. Our Classroom Packages are a great fit for any learning environment, from traditional classrooms to afterschool programs and summer camps. Every school works with a dedicated person from the True Robotics team.

The True Robotics K-12 Classroom Suite is built on about a year of our research in partnership with MIT, drawing on hundreds of educator interviews. We asked educators across the country about their real challenges in STEM. Every kind of school and every job title named the same four: time for new curriculum materials, hands-on STEM activities, access to expert training, and alignment with standards. We built our suite to break down those barriers for your teachers, not add to them.

The True Robotics K-12 Classroom Suite answers the four challenges educators named in our research: time, hands-on STEM, training, and standards. Your teachers have no time to write new curriculum, so our grab-and-go lessons arrive ready to teach. Schools want hands-on STEM with real-world connections, and teachers want training to feel confident in front of students. Our lessons also have to help your students reach the goals your school and state set. Funding is the barrier behind all four, and we help there too.

Your school works with a dedicated person from the True Robotics team, who makes sure our program is a great fit and that your students and teachers have everything they need. We start by learning about your school: what you run today for STEM and robotics, and your long-term goals. Every teacher also gets an assigned point of contact to reach any time they need help, a real person rather than a 1-800 number.

Yes. Your teachers and school leaders can book a free meeting with our team to learn more about True Robotics before you decide anything. We start by learning about your school: what you run today for STEM and robotics, and your long-term goals. Then we walk you through the programs that fit your grades and answer all of your questions. Send us a few days and times that work for you on our Contact Us page, and we will set up a call!

The K-12 Classroom Suite is our family of True Robotics programs, each built on reusable robot kits, a grab-and-go curriculum for every grade, and one-on-one teacher training. It runs from kindergarten through grade 12: Treads, Pilot, and Axle take your students through middle school today, and Medical Robotics on our True Robotics CTE Kit carries them through high school. We're proud of our robots, but we take the most pride in our curriculum and our training. Many schools start with one grade band and add the others later.

Yes. Our True Robotics Classroom Packages bring your school a classroom set of reusable robots, our grab-and-go curriculum with a lesson plan and ready-made PowerPoint for every lesson, our 24/7 Learning Portal, and one-on-one teacher training. That means your teachers can start without building anything from scratch.

True Robotics is a complete robotics program, not just a robot. Each grade band has its own robot and a grab-and-go curriculum for every grade: 25 lessons for Treads and Pilot, and 45 for Axle and Medical Robotics. Two students share each Treads Robot, and two or three share each kit. Your students in grades 3 to 8 build their own kits, and every robot codes in our True Robotics Playground. Every teacher gets one-on-one training, and we publish our per-robot prices and standards alignment documents for every state.

We have a True Robotics program for every grade band from kindergarten through grade 12. Paving the Way with Treads is for grades K-3, Taking Off with Pilot for grades 3-5, Introduction to Robotics with Axle for grades 6-8, and Medical Robotics, our 2027 course, for grades 8 to 12. Treads has 25 lessons per grade of about 30 minutes, Pilot has 25 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, and Axle has 45 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes. Your youngest students start with the Treads Robot, which arrives ready to use, and grades 3 to 8 build the Pilot and Axle kits themselves. Medical Robotics has 45 lessons and runs on the True Robotics CTE Kit.

Third grade appears in both True Robotics programs on purpose, so your school can match our robot to your students. Paving the Way with Treads suits third graders who are new to robotics, because its coding is simpler to pick up. Taking Off with Pilot suits third graders who are mechanically inclined or ready for more: they build the Pilot Robot Kit, and the coding levels up. For a full K-12 pipeline, we recommend Treads in kindergarten, first, and second grade, then Pilot from third grade, Axle in grades 6 to 8, and Medical Robotics on our True Robotics CTE Kit in high school.

Our General curriculum is a version of the True Robotics Pilot and Axle curricula that needs no grade-level prior knowledge, so any group of students can jump in. Our grade versions build on grade-level skills, so fifth grade Pilot expects a good grasp of upper elementary math and science. The General version looks at robotics and coding as a whole, a great fit for an after-school club that mixes grades. We wrote Paving the Way with Treads grade by grade, so it has no General version.

Yes. Your students in grades 3 to 8 build the True Robotics Pilot Robot Kit and Axle Robot Kit themselves, while the Treads Robot arrives ready to use. Pilot has about 150 pieces that students put together with real tools in one to three class periods, and its ultrasonic sensor lets it avoid walls. Axle, Pilot's big brother, has about double the pieces and adds a light sensor underneath for line following. Both come with a game controller your students learn to program, plus every tool and piece.

Yes. Every True Robotics robot and every piece of our equipment is reusable, so one set serves your school for years. Your students build the Pilot Robot Kit and the Axle Robot Kit and take them apart at the end of the unit, ready for the next grade to build again. Our Treads Robot is never taken apart, so it can move from classroom to classroom all day. Because everything stays with your school, the only cost from year two on is your yearly license renewal.

FlexForge is our add-on kit for the True Robotics Pilot Robot Kit and Axle Robot Kit, at $149 per kit for FlexForge Basic and $349 per kit for FlexForge Enhanced. It adds build pieces, extra motors, and gears that your students attach to the robot they built. Our FlexForge curriculum has 16 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes: an introduction, then five units of real-world engineering challenges. Students might design a claw that carries an object across the room or a snowplow for the front of their robot.

No. We can weave FlexForge right into a True Robotics Pilot or Axle unit, and we plan that mix with your school. For an eighth grade engineering course with about 20 instructional days, our curriculum team wrote a custom scope using Axle with FlexForge. Students spent a couple of days on the build and basic programming. Then they alternated engineering design challenges with sensor programming, because the course's priority was the engineering design process.

Yes. At True Robotics, our middle school robotics program is Introduction to Robotics with Axle, with a curriculum written for each of grades 6, 7, and 8. Your students build the Axle Robot Kit, more than 250 pieces, then code it through 45 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes. Along the way, they apply grade-level math and science, from fractions to Newton's Third Law. Your school can run it as a science, math, or engineering class, an after-school club, or a summer camp.

In 6th grade, robotics with True Robotics means Introduction to Robotics with Axle, where your students build the Axle Robot Kit, code it, and use it to learn grade-level math and science. Our 6th grade curriculum has 45 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, and the kit has more than 250 pieces. Your students multiply and divide fractions, find the area and perimeter of squares, and explore waves and digital and analog signals. They also program the game controller and the ultrasonic and light sensors.

In 8th grade, robotics with True Robotics means Introduction to Robotics with Axle, where your students build the Axle Robot Kit, code it, and use it to apply grade-level math and science. Our 8th grade curriculum has 45 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, and the kit has more than 250 pieces. Your students solve systems of equations, use the Pythagorean Theorem, and explore Newton's Third Law through collisions. They also program the game controller and apply the ultrasonic and light sensors.

In 4th grade, robotics with True Robotics means Taking Off with Pilot, where your students build the Pilot Robot Kit, code it, and use it to learn grade-level math and science. Our 4th grade curriculum has 25 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, and the kit has about 150 pieces. Your students measure with mixed numbers and improper fractions, find the area and perimeter of rectangles, and explore speed and energy. They also program the ultrasonic sensor and take on an obstacle course challenge.

In 5th grade, robotics with True Robotics means Taking Off with Pilot, where your students build the Pilot Robot Kit, code it, and use it to learn grade-level math and science. Our 5th grade curriculum has 25 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, and the kit has about 150 pieces. Your students convert measurements, discover volume, and explore the properties of materials. They also take on a volume escape room, ultrasonic sensor challenges, and an obstacle course.

In kindergarten, robotics with True Robotics means Paving the Way with Treads, where your students code the ready-to-use Treads Robot while practicing grade-level math and reading. Our kindergarten curriculum has 25 lessons of about 30 minutes, and your students code with simple picture blocks in True Robotics Playground. They count, add with dots and dice, and explore shapes, and they practice rhyming words and high-frequency words with Treads. Along the way, they solve robot puzzles and learn to debug their programs.

In 3rd grade, robotics with True Robotics means coding a robot while practicing grade-level skills, in Paving the Way with Treads or Taking Off with Pilot. In Treads, your students code the ready-to-use Treads Robot through 25 lessons of about 30 minutes, with multiplication, fractions, and vocabulary. In Pilot, they build the Pilot Robot Kit and code it through 25 lessons of 45 to 60 minutes, with fractions, measuring, and forces.

At True Robotics, we believe the best time to start robotics is early, so our programs begin in kindergarten and run all the way through grade 12. Your youngest students start with the Treads Robot, which arrives ready to use and is coded with simple picture blocks. In grades 3 to 5, your students build and code the Pilot Robot Kit, and in grades 6 to 8, the Axle Robot Kit. In high school, your students design medical devices in Medical Robotics on our True Robotics CTE Kit. We want every student to see themselves in STEM early and often, so they make more informed decisions about their future.

In elementary school, robotics with True Robotics means coding real robots while practicing math, reading, and science, from kindergarten through grade 5. In grades K to 3, Paving the Way with Treads brings the ready-to-use Treads Robot into your math centers and ELA small groups, with 25 lessons per grade. In grades 3 to 5, Taking Off with Pilot has your students build the Pilot Robot Kit, then code it through 25 lessons per grade. Both programs come with our grab-and-go curriculum and one-on-one teacher training.

At True Robotics, we believe the best robot kits for students are made for their grade, so we make one for every grade band from kindergarten through grade 12. Our $200 Treads Robot arrives ready to use for grades K to 3, with nothing to build. Our $399 Pilot Robot Kit is about 150 pieces your students in grades 3 to 5 build themselves. Our $650 Axle Robot Kit is more than 250 pieces your students in grades 6 to 8 build themselves. All three are reusable, with our curriculum for every grade. For high school, our True Robotics CTE Kit serves grades 8 to 12.

Every True Robotics robot comes with all required tools and pieces, plus batteries and chargers. Our Treads Robot arrives built, with a touchscreen that shows its face. Our Pilot Robot Kit has about 150 pieces, a touchscreen, a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, and a game controller. Our Axle Robot Kit has more than 250 pieces, a touchscreen, a camera, ultrasonic and light sensors, and a game controller. Both kits include a screwdriver, a wrench, a ruler, and double the screws you'll need.

At True Robotics, we believe every school should have a robotics curriculum so every student can learn with robots, not just the top 10 to 20 percent. Hands-on robotics makes STEM something your students do, not just something they read about. We want every student to see themselves in STEM, so they make decisions about their future in a more informed way. Our lessons teach math and science with the robot, so robotics enhances your students' learning rather than replacing it.

At True Robotics, we believe hands-on robotics can ignite curiosity, foster problem-solving skills, and inspire creativity in students from kindergarten through grade 12. Coding a real robot teaches sequencing, loops, and conditionals, and your students watch their programs run right on the robot. Our lessons also teach the math and science behind the robot, such as fractions, speed, and forces. Working in groups of two to three, your students practice teamwork and communication too.

Medical Robotics is our 2027 robotics course for grades 8 to 12, with 45 lessons. Students learn how the human body works, then design, build, and program robots that help it: a powered prosthetic arm, a steady spoon, a rehab exoskeleton, a hospital delivery robot, a surgical gripper, and a medical robot of their own. Every lesson pairs a life science focus with hands-on robotics. Teams of two or three share one True Robotics CTE Kit.

The lead time on the True Robotics CTE Kit is 6 to 8 weeks. Medical Robotics is our 2027 course, and teams of two or three share one kit. If your school is planning a high school CTE, engineering, or health science pathway, get in touch with our team and we will help you plan your timing!

Your students build five medical devices and then one of their own: a powered prosthetic arm, a steady spoon that stays level for someone with a tremor, a rehab exoskeleton for an elbow, a hospital delivery robot that checks patient wristbands, and a teleoperated surgical gripper. Each device starts with a patient and ends with a test clinicians actually use, like the Box and Block Test for the arm. In the capstone, each team designs, builds, and tests a medical robot for a real patient need and presents it to guests from health care.

Yes. Medical Robotics, our 2027 course for grades 8 to 12, has 45 lessons and runs on the True Robotics CTE Kit. Our K-12 Classroom Suite serves your students from kindergarten through middle school with Treads, Pilot, and Axle, and Medical Robotics on our CTE Kit carries it through grade 12.

Yes. Medical Robotics is the first course in our career and technical education (CTE) line for grades 8 to 12, and our 2027 course. It connects hands-on robotics to real careers in biomedical engineering, prosthetics, rehabilitation engineering, physical and occupational therapy, clinical engineering, and surgical robotics. Along the way, students rate risks and keep a Design History File just like a medical device team, and in the capstone they present their own robot to guests from local hospitals, colleges, or companies.

Every lesson is written for a 60 minute class, and every lesson plan includes a 45 minute version. Each one has an entrance ticket, a mini-lesson, 25 to 35 minutes of hands-on work time, time to log data in the Engineering Journal and clean up, and a reflection. Your teachers get a lesson plan with timed activities, slides with embedded videos, and an Engineering Journal page for every lesson, with answer keys where they are needed and starter programs in blocks and Python for the coding lessons. Every device runs through the same design cycle: Plan and Design, Build, Program, Test and Improve, and Show and Tell.

Both. Students in Medical Robotics program every device in True Robotics Playground, where grades 8 and 9 usually code in blocks and grades 10 to 12 can move to Python. Every starter program comes in both, and teams are placed by readiness rather than grade, so a team can switch to Python whenever it is ready. Their skills grow from loops and servo angles to closed-loop control, state machines, and motion scaling.

No. Every build in Medical Robotics works with the pieces in the True Robotics CTE Kit, so a 3D printer is a bonus, not a requirement. In every unit, teams design one custom part for their device in our free True Robotics Design Playground, CAD software that runs right in a web browser at design.truerobotics.org. Schools with a printer print it using the guide that comes with the kit, and schools without one build the same idea from kit pieces, so the design work counts either way.

Medical Robotics is mapped lesson by lesson to the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Curriculum Framework (2016) and the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017): 3 life science, 1 physical science, 11 engineering, and 7 computer science standards. We also publish a Medical Robotics standards alignment for every state, with your state's own codes and wording, on our Standards Alignment page. Every standard listed is one the lessons teach directly, and our team is happy to talk through how the course fits your school's science, engineering, and CTE goals.

The True Robotics CTE Kit is our robot kit for high school career and technical education in grades 8 to 12, $850 per kit with a lead time of 6 to 8 weeks. It includes a robot controller with a battery, a game controller, motors, servos, a gyro, a light sensor, a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, cables, omni and traction wheels, and FlexForge Enhanced Kit parts, plus a guide for 3D printing the parts students design. Teams of two or three share one kit, and Medical Robotics is the first course built on it.

The True Robotics CTE Kit is $850 per kit, and teams of two or three students share one kit. The lead time is 6 to 8 weeks. For the Medical Robotics curriculum, request a quote and our team will put pricing together for your school.

The True Robotics CTE Kit codes in True Robotics Playground, the same coding software our younger students use, with blocks or Python. Grades 8 and 9 usually start in blocks, and grades 10 to 12 can move to Python, so one tool grows with your students all the way through high school.

Your teachers find every True Robotics lesson in our Teacher Digital Portal, which they sign in to from our website. Our portal has two main resources: the Curriculum Portal, with all of our teaching resources, and the Learning Portal, with all of our training. When a teacher opens a program, they see every grade they have access to, and Pilot and Axle add a General curriculum and a FlexForge folder. Each program also has a curriculum map, as a PDF and a Word document.

Every True Robotics lesson comes with a detailed lesson plan, a ready-made PowerPoint with how-to videos, an entrance ticket and reflection question, and the day's materials. Our lesson plan gives the objectives, the vocabulary, and recommended activities that show how to spend your class time. Whenever your students do something for the first time, a video shows them exactly what to do. Programming lessons include answer keys, math and science lessons include worksheets or graphic organizers, and teacher copies come with the answers.

Every True Robotics lesson comes in PDF and Word format, as well as PowerPoint, and our lessons are compatible with Google Slides and Google Classroom. Your teachers find them all in our online Curriculum Portal. If our PDF works as is, print it and teach from it. If a group of your students needs modifications or accommodations, the editable Word version makes those changes easy.

Very little. Most of the teachers we work with report that prep for a True Robotics lesson takes about five minutes once they understand the flow. Most of that is the PowerPoint loading. Your lesson plan, presentation, entrance ticket, reflection, and answer keys are all ready in our Curriculum Portal, so there is nothing to write. Our goal is to bring your teachers' prep time all the way down to zero.

Every True Robotics lesson is written for exactly that teacher, so your teachers can teach with confidence from day one. Whenever students do something for the first time, a video in our PowerPoint shows exactly what to do, and a hesitant teacher can learn right alongside the class. Where there is a robot to build, we recommend teachers build it themselves first, following our build videos in the Learning Portal. Every teacher also gets a 30-minute intro session, one-on-one training, and an assigned point of contact.

Yes. Every True Robotics curriculum is aligned to national standards and to every state's standards, with a published alignment document for every state. In grades K to 3, our lessons cover Common Core math and ELA, the Next Generation Science Standards, and the CSTA computer science standards. In grades 3 to 8, they cover Common Core math, the Next Generation Science Standards, the CSTA computer science standards, and the ISTE Standards for Students. In grades 8 to 12, Medical Robotics covers NGSS, CSTA, and the Massachusetts STE Framework.

We organized Paving the Way with Treads by kind of lesson, so your teachers can bring it in whenever it fits rather than teaching it straight through. Each grade's 25 lessons include eight programming lessons, eight math lessons, and nine ELA lessons, and the last one is a competition or performance. Your teachers use our math and ELA lessons whenever those concepts come up in class, which makes Treads a natural fit for math centers, ELA small groups, rotations, and stations.

Our Taking Off with Pilot unit is 25 lessons that build on each other, mixing five kinds: building lessons, programming lessons, math lessons, science lessons, and robotics and engineering lessons. In building lessons your students assemble the Pilot Robot Kit, and programming lessons take them through coding challenges, the ultrasonic sensor, obstacle courses, and races. Math lessons cover skills the robot needs, such as fractions for measuring, and science lessons explore speed, energy, and forces. Robotics and engineering lessons look at real-world robots and engineering design.

Our team builds a custom scope and sequence with your teachers that fits Introduction to Robotics with Axle to the days you actually have. We start with two questions: how many days can you give the unit, and is your goal raising math and science scores or a hands-on introduction to robotics? Then we recommend which of the 45 lessons matter most, keeping the math and science lessons or moving sooner into more complex coding. Taking Off with Pilot gets the same help.

True Robotics Playground is our free, drag-and-drop coding software, where your students program every True Robotics robot, from the Treads Robot to our True Robotics CTE Kit. Students open it at app.truerobotics.org, pick their robot, snap blocks into a program, and upload it to the robot over Bluetooth or USB. No student ever logs in, and we collect no student data. Our blocks grow with your students, from picture blocks for Treads to blocks with more text for Pilot and Axle, and blocks or Python on our 2027 CTE Kit.

Only the devices your students code on, such as the Chromebooks or iPads your school already has, and we at True Robotics provide everything else. Our robots work with any Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, or Android tablet. We send our robots and kits with all required tools and pieces, the batteries and chargers, double the screws you'll need, and a game controller for Pilot and Axle. Our curriculum and teacher training come with them, too.

Your students open True Robotics Playground at app.truerobotics.org and choose the robot they're using, and on a Chromebook or Mac there is nothing to install. Windows 10 and 11 computers need a driver from the settings gear in our software, and installing it needs administrator rights. On iPads, it is a downloadable app. Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, because our software does not open in Safari. Our lesson videos walk your students through setup on every device.

Our coding levels up with the robot, all inside True Robotics Playground. Treads uses simple picture blocks that your students snap together to make the robot drive a square, cross the room, or circle the desks. Pilot and Axle still use drag-and-drop blocks, with more text and fewer icons. There, your students sequence blocks for new challenges, use conditionals and loops, and program the ultrasonic and light sensors and the game controller.

Yes. Your students learn computer science in True Robotics Playground, our drag-and-drop coding software, by coding real robots. In kindergarten through 3rd grade, they snap picture blocks together to drive the Treads Robot. From 3rd grade on, they use blocks with more text, loops, conditionals, sensors, and the game controller on our Pilot and Axle kits. In Medical Robotics, our 2027 course for grades 8 to 12, they code the True Robotics CTE Kit in blocks or Python. All of our programs are aligned to the CSTA computer science standards.

We built math and ELA practice right into the True Robotics Treads coding blocks, so your students solve a math or reading task inside the program they're writing. They practice skills like addition, subtraction, ordering numbers, counting by fives and tens, and rhyming words. The feedback is instant: a right answer sends the Treads Robot through the rest of the code, and a wrong answer keeps it still. In older grades, that grows into vocabulary, high-frequency words, and long vowel sounds.

Your students upload their programs from True Robotics Playground to the robot over Bluetooth or USB, and it runs right on the robot. Because a program is simply uploaded, a built robot is easy to share: any class can upload its own programs. That is why one grade can build our robots and every grade in your school can use them.

No. Your students never need a username or password for True Robotics Playground, and we collect no data on your students. That saves class time, since nobody is typing in a password, and it protects your students' privacy. Students can still save their programs to their Chromebook to keep working in a later class or hand one in to their teacher. Your teachers do have accounts, which we set up together in their 30-minute intro session.

No. Your teachers need no coding or robotics experience to teach True Robotics, because our lessons and training are built for teachers brand new to robotics. Every teacher starts off with a one-on-one training session, alongside our self-paced Learning Portal. Then every school we work with receives additional professional development, in person, virtually, or both. Every teacher also has an assigned point of contact, and teachers with experience can take a quicker path.

The True Robotics Learning Portal is our self-paced online course for teachers, open 24/7 so your teachers can learn on their own time. Each teacher follows the course for their program, moving through chapters, videos, articles, tutorials, and short quizzes. It covers getting our curriculum, building the robot with follow-along videos, maintenance tips, installing our software, and programming the robot through the same challenges your students will do. Teachers can even come back the night before a harder lesson.

Every True Robotics teacher gets a 30-minute personalized intro session, one-on-one training sessions of about one to two hours, and an assigned point of contact. The intro session sets up the teacher's account, tours our portal, and helps get their classroom ready. The one-on-one sessions are tailored to each teacher, from building the robot together to a quick tour for teachers with experience. We hold these sessions virtually, and the point of contact is a real person, not a 1-800 number.

Yes. Every school we work with gets True Robotics training in person, virtually, or both, and every teacher gets one-on-one sessions. We recommend in-person sessions for a full-school rollout with several teachers, because that is when having our team in the room helps most.

Your teachers get started with a 30-minute True Robotics intro session and one-on-one virtual training of about one to two hours, and our self-paced Learning Portal is open 24/7 whenever they want more. Our Treads Robot arrives built, so your K-3 students can start coding right away. A Pilot build takes one to three class periods, and an Axle build takes two lessons. Every lesson is written and waiting in our Teacher Digital Portal, and most teachers report that prep takes about five minutes once they understand the flow.

We recommend two to three students per True Robotics robot, which is your best bet for engagement. Our Treads Robot is ideal for two students and runs 60 to 90 minutes on a charge. The Pilot Robot Kit suits two to three students with 4 to 5 hours of battery life, and the Axle Robot Kit suits two to three students with 2 to 3 hours. We send batteries and chargers with every robot.

A class of 24 needs 12 True Robotics Treads Robots, or 8 to 12 Pilot Robot Kits or Axle Robot Kits. We recommend two students per Treads Robot and two to three students per Pilot or Axle kit. For any class size, divide your students by those group sizes. During the build, keep the same students on the same kit for the couple of days it takes. After that, one set of our robots can serve many classes across your school.

One set of True Robotics robots can serve your whole school, with one robot for every two to three students at a time. The best way to share is to stagger your units, so each grade uses the same robots in turn across the fall, winter, and spring. You can also have one grade build your robots so every grade can use them, since students simply upload their programs. Our Treads Robot moves freely between classrooms, kindergarten in the morning and first grade in the afternoon.

Yes. Every True Robotics program is a great fit for any learning environment, including traditional, alternative, and sub-therapeutic settings, as well as afterschool programs and summer camps. Every lesson file comes as an editable Word document, so your teachers can make modifications and accommodations for different groups of students. Treads works especially well for students who struggle with workbook seat work. Audrey Brooks, a special education teacher in Worcester Public Schools, saw her students applying basic code in a short time.

Yes. Your school can run a True Robotics after-school club with the same robots your classes already use. A class uses the built robots in the morning, and in the afternoon your most interested students can use our FlexForge pieces to go deeper into engineering design. Our General curriculum is a great fit for clubs that mix grades, because it needs no grade-level prior knowledge. Clubs also pair well with staggered units: a grade finishes its unit, then joins the club later in the year.

At True Robotics, we price our robots per robot: the Treads Robot is $200, the Pilot Robot Kit is $399, and the Axle Robot Kit is $650. FlexForge add-on kits are $149 for Basic and $349 for Enhanced. We price curriculum licensing and professional development separately and bundle them into Classroom Packages at a discount. Your first year includes a classroom set of robots, curriculum licensing, our Learning Portal, and our full one-on-one training package. Every school differs, so we build a quote for yours.

Two things drive the cost of a True Robotics program: how many students it reaches and how many teachers need curriculum licenses. We price each robot separately, $200 for Treads, $399 for Pilot, and $650 for Axle, and a class needs one robot for every two to three students. We price curriculum licensing and professional development separately and bundle them into Classroom Packages at a discount. Our FlexForge kits are optional.

After the first year, your school pays only the yearly True Robotics license renewal for our curriculum and Learning Portal. Your reusable robots stay with your school and your teachers are already trained, so the license is the only thing to plan for in the years that follow. The renewal amount depends on how many teachers are licensed.

Schools most often pay for True Robotics with Title funds or grants, and our team helps with both. We work very often with Title I, Title II, and Title IV funds, and when your school has money left in more than one pool, we can split your purchase across them. For grants, a dedicated person from our team researches the grants open to your school, then helps you fill out the application and build the budget table, so your submission is as strong as it can be.

Yes. Title I, Title II, and Title IV funds are among the most common ways schools pay for True Robotics, and we work with them very often. Each Title is a separate pool of federal education funding, and your school may have money left in more than one. If it does, we can split your purchase so each part draws on a different pool. Grants are the other common route, and a dedicated person from our team can help you find and apply for one.

Yes. Starting with one True Robotics program is probably the most common way schools begin with us: they pilot one grade band, then expand from there. Which band comes first depends on your school and your funding. If a grant can cover our middle school program, Introduction to Robotics with Axle is a strong start, because middle schoolers love it and the younger students watching want a turn too. The next year, your school can budget for another program or find more grants.

After a first call, True Robotics sends you everything you need to take to your board or leadership team, along with grant options we've researched for your school. The call starts with us learning about your school: what you run today for STEM and robotics, and your long-term goals. We then set a follow-up, usually about two weeks later, to talk through funding and next steps. Interested in bringing robotics to your school? Request a quote to start the conversation!