Taking Off with Pilot
Taking Off with Pilot is our hands-on robotics program for every 3rd, 4th, and 5th grader, with reusable robot kits, grab-and-go curriculum, and one-on-one teacher training. Two or three students share each $399 Pilot Robot Kit, building it with real-world tools and then coding it through 25 lessons we wrote for their grade.
The build
A robot your students build themselves
Every Pilot Robot Kit arrives in pieces, so your students are hands-on right from the start. Once they have built it together, their robot becomes the tool for everything they learn next.
Pilot Robot Kit
Grades 3-5A reusable kit with every piece, a screwdriver, a wrench, and a ruler.
- Pieces
- About 150 pieces
- Build time
- One to three class periods
- Battery life
- 4 to 5 hours
- Sensor
- Ultrasonic sensor
Our curriculum
A 25-lesson robotics unit
We wrote Taking Off with Pilot as a true unit of learning, not a set of one-off activities. Each lesson builds on the one before, with grade-level math and science taught right alongside our robot, so your students get a complete STEM experience.
25 lessons
11 programming lessons
4 science lessons
4 robotics and engineering lessons
3 building lessons
3 math lessons
Taking Off with Pilot at a glance
| Grades | 3 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Lessons | 25 lessons for each grade |
| Lesson length | About 45 to 60 minutes, with plenty of flexibility |
| Ideal students per robot | 2 to 3 students |
Our curriculum, grade by grade
We wrote a separate curriculum for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, each one building on that grade’s math and science. Our General curriculum needs no prior knowledge, which makes it a great fit for mixed grades and after-school clubs.
Standards alignment
A curriculum for every grade, aligned to Common Core, NGSS, CSTA, ISTE, and your state's standards.
See how Pilot lines up with standardsComputer science
Coding in True Robotics Playground
Your students code Pilot in True Robotics Playground with drag-and-drop blocks that carry more words than the picture blocks of the early grades. There are no student logins, and we collect no student data.
In the Pilot workspace
- Five block categories: Drive, Events, Inputs, Conditionals, and Loops
- Programming the ultrasonic sensor and the game controller
- Uploading programs over Bluetooth to run right on their robot
Runs on the devices you have
- Windows
- Mac
- Chromebook
- iPad
- Android tablet
Our add-on
FlexForge on Pilot
Our FlexForge add-on brings gray build pieces, extra motors, and gears that mount right on the Pilot Robot Kit. Your students take on five engineering challenges, from a soccer bot to a capstone robot of their own design.
How Pilot runs at your school
From your first call to your students’ first build, our team plans the rollout with you.
Request a quote
Tell us about your grades and class sizes, and we build a quote for your school.
Your kits arrive
Every tool, battery, and charger is in the box, so all your school adds is a device to code on.
A 30-minute welcome
Each teacher meets our team virtually to set up logins and tour our portal.
You build, then they build
Your teachers build one kit first with our follow-along videos, then their students build their own.
- Fewer than 25 days
- Our team builds a custom scope and sequence around the days you do have.
- One set, many classes
- Once your robots are built, one set can move from class to class across your school.
Teacher training for Pilot
We give every Pilot teacher interactive, one-on-one training, so they can teach robotics with confidence even if they have never coded before. Every school we work with gets training in person, virtually, or both.
See how we train teachers| What you get | When | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Portal | Self-paced | Our online course with videos and quizzes, including a full chapter on building Pilot. |
| A 30-minute intro session | First step | A virtual one-on-one welcome where we set up your login and tour our portal. |
| A dedicated contact | Any time | A dedicated person from the True Robotics team who knows your school. |
| One-on-one training | One to two hours | Virtual sessions we tailor to each teacher, often spent building Pilot together. |
| In-person sessions | At your school | Our team in the room, which we recommend for a full-school rollout. |
What Pilot costs
We price curriculum licensing and professional development separately and bundle them into Classroom Packages at a discount. Prices subject to change.
Kits for a class of 24
Two or three students share each Pilot Robot Kit, so a class of 24 needs 8 to 12 kits. Every kit is reusable, so it keeps serving your students year after year.
What our Classroom Packages include
Our Classroom Packages include a classroom set of robots, our grab-and-go curriculum, our Learning Portal, and our full one-on-one training package. Many schools pay for them with Title I, II, or IV funds or with grants, and our team is glad to help with both.
Your younger students can start with Paving the Way with Treads, and your middle schoolers move on to Introduction to Robotics with Axle.
Questions about Taking Off with Pilot
How does a Pilot unit flow?
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.
What is the General curriculum?
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.
Do teachers need coding experience?
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.
How much does it cost?
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.
What is robotics in 4th grade?
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.
What is robotics in 5th grade?
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.
Bring Pilot to your grades 3 to 5 classrooms
Interested in bringing hands-on robotics to your third, fourth, and fifth graders? Tell us about your grades and your goals, and we will put together a quote with Pilot Robot Kits, our grab-and-go curriculum, and one-on-one teacher training.
