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AuRobo Academy
Australian Robotics Academy
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Ages 6–12

Robo Engineer

Gears, motors and mechanisms — the making of a maker.

Enrol in Robo Engineers

Price$0.00
60+
Curriculum builds
8
Week terms
7
Age tiers covered
Robo Engineer
What kids learn

About Robo Engineer

Robo Engineer is where kids stop following instructions and start thinking like engineers. Every week focuses on a specific transmission concept — spur, bevel, worm, rack-and-pinion — so by term's end students can look at a real-world machine and reason about how it works.

By the end of a term, students can:

  • Identify and correctly use spur, bevel, worm and rack-and-pinion gears
  • Reason about torque, speed reduction and mechanical advantage
  • Debug a build when something doesn't turn or move
  • Explain a real-world machine (crane, escalator, mixer) in engineering terms
8-week term

The curriculum journey

A concept-driven progression — every week unlocks a new STEM idea, with the exact builds refreshed each term.

Week 1

Spur gear transmission

The simplest gear. Speed vs torque trade-off.

Example builds
F1 Car
F1 Car
Race Car
Race Car
Gear ratio math (intro)Assembly
Week 2

Bevel & angle drives

Turn horizontal rotation into steering. 90° axis change.

Example builds
Trike Motorcycle
Trike Motorcycle
Army Jeep
Army Jeep
90° axis changeSteering geometry
Week 3

Chained transmissions

Propellers from a chained drive-train.

Example builds
Airplane
Airplane
Helicopter
Helicopter
Chained transmissionsDebugging
Week 4

Belt & pulley drives

Synchronous rotation between wheels via belts.

Example builds
Windmill
Windmill
Mixer
Mixer
Belt tensionSynchronised motion
Week 5

Worm gears & lifting

Slow, high-torque motion for lifting loads.

Example builds
Dump Truck
Dump Truck
Mobile Crane
Mobile Crane
Self-locking drivesCable spooling
Week 6

Crown gears

Perpendicular rotation for rotors and carousels.

Example builds
Helicopter
Helicopter
Carousel
Carousel
Alignment toleranceLoad balancing
Week 7

Rack & pinion (linear motion)

Convert rotation to linear lift.

Example builds
Forklift
Forklift
Elevator
Elevator
Sliding Door
Sliding Door
Linear vs rotary motionAssembly planning
Week 8

System integration

Combine gears, belts and linear motion in one build.

Example builds
Garage Gate
Garage Gate
Bat Mobile
Bat Mobile
Servo introFull-system integration

Curriculum evolves each term — example builds shown; your child's exact models rotate to keep every term fresh.

Every build in Robo Engineer

16 featured models

A cross-section of the 60+ full curriculum — with the exact mechanism each build teaches.

Trike Motorcycle — Robo Engineer build

Trike Motorcycle

The drive is made on a bevel gear. The steering wheel can be turned, ride straight, backward or in a circle.

Airplane — Robo Engineer build

Airplane

The rotation of the propeller is realized with the help of a multi-link system of mechanical transmissions.

Army Jeep — Robo Engineer build

Army Jeep

The model uses a bevel gear to set the truck in motion.

Bat Mobile — Robo Engineer build

Bat Mobile

An increasing cylindrical gear is used.

Carousel — Robo Engineer build

Carousel

The drive uses a bevel gear that converts rotation from horizontal to vertical.

Dump Truck — Robo Engineer build

Dump Truck

Drive is made on a worm gear. The raising and lowering of the body is controlled by a smart motor.

Elevator — Robo Engineer build

Elevator

The movement of the cabin occurs due to the winding of the cable on a reel mounted on the driven shaft of the worm gear.

F1 Race Car — Robo Engineer build

F1 Race Car

The drive is made on a spur gear.

Forklift — Robo Engineer build

Forklift

A combination of worm and rack-and-pinion gears is used.

Sliding Doors — Robo Engineer build

Sliding Doors

A combination of belt and bevel mechanical gears operates the sliding doors.

Helicopter — Robo Engineer build

Helicopter

A crown gear rotates the main and auxiliary propellers of the helicopter.

Mixer — Robo Engineer build

Mixer

The rotation drive of the mixer rims is made on a bevel gear — transforming rotation from horizontal to vertical.

Mobile Crane — Robo Engineer build

Mobile Crane

The crane boom is lowered and raised by a worm gear drive.

Power Plant — Robo Engineer build

Power Plant

Gear reducing speed transmission — a smaller drive gear turns a larger driven gear.

Steering Race Car — Robo Engineer build

Steering Race Car

The servo motor controls the steering mechanism, able to rotate through a 90° angle.

Windmill — Robo Engineer build

Windmill

A combination of belt and bevel gears ensures synchronous rotation of both the mill blades and the mill wheel.

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