Train Your Robot! 🤖
Robots don't know what to do until YOU teach them. Choose sensors, engines, and rules to see how your robot behaves!
Robot Miles
What should Miles scan for?
AI uses sensors like cameras and microphones to detect objects. What data should Miles pay attention to?
What is inside this activity
Train Your Robot is free, needs no login, and runs entirely in the browser. A child makes three choices, then trains the robot in a short practice round by handing out reward stars. Those stars decide what the robot learns, and the robot then faces a course of playground challenges where some choices work and others do not — that is the whole idea of training a model, at a scale a five-year-old can hold in their head.
Step 1 · What the robot can see
A robot only notices what its sensors are built to notice. Miles gets one of three.
- 💎 Star & Gem Scanner — Your robot scans for shiny crystals, gold coins, and secret stars in the grass!
- 🐾 Friend & Pet Radar — Your robot has warm fuzzy sensors that detect kittens, puppies, and friends who need a smile.
- ⚡ Energy Fruit Sniffer — Your robot sniffs out supercharged batteries, rainbow berries, and power juice!
Step 2 · How the robot moves
The same obstacle is easy or impossible depending on how a machine gets around.
- 🚀 Turbo Jet-Packs — Twin fire rockets that zoom across the grass and fly over fences in one big whoosh!
- 🥷 Gentle Sneak-Treads — Caterpillar rubber tracks that roll silently over gravel, mud, and grass without tipping over.
- 🦘 Bouncy Pogo-Legs — Springy chrome coil legs that jump over trees, bounce off clouds, and land with a boing!
Step 3 · What the robot is trying to do
Engineers call this the reward function: the rule that decides what counts as success.
- 🛡️ Helpful Hero Mode — Taught to always lend a helping hand, clear dangerous rocks, and comfort anyone in trouble.
- 🕺 Disco Party Bot — Taught to play party music, breakdance with squirrels, and turn every moment into a dance floor!
- 🔬 Curious Explorer — Taught to investigate every mystery, take snapshots, and write down fun facts in its robot notebook.
The 5 playground challenges
Miles walks the same course every time; what changes is the robot. A challenge can go brilliantly or awkwardly, and both are useful — the awkward ones show exactly why one engine or sensor was the wrong tool for that spot.
- 💦 The Giant Mud Puddle — A deep, squishy mud puddle blocks the whole park trail!
- 🕳️ The Narrow Tunnel — The only way through is a narrow tunnel with a low, rocky roof.
- 🪨 The Heavy Boulder — A huge boulder blocks the path — but there is plenty of open room to go over it!
- 🐱 The Kitten in a Tree — A little striped kitten is mewing softly from a tall oak branch!
- 🎪 The Grand Playground Festival — All the park kids and animals gather for the big robot showcase!
Finishing a run earns the Master Robot Trainer badge, the nineteenth stamp in the AI Explorer Passport. The other eighteen come from the AI missions, and there are lesson plans and printables for grown-ups on the parents and teachers page.