ROBOROOTS 2.0Scaling Physical AI & Community Sovereignty
Following the landmark success of our inaugural hackathon, RoboRoots returns to the African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC). We are uniting community members, civic leadership, frontier industry mentors, and rising builders under one roof. Together, we are not just building robots—we are building the right educational and technological course for our community's future.
- YOUTH STEM BUILDERSIntroduced to Physical AI, Arm Teleoperation, Sim2Real & Agility Platforms
- INTERGENERATIONAL ACCESSOpen to All Ages: Families, Seniors, Students & Civic Leaders
- ZERO PAYWALLS100% Free Hardware Access, Compute Stations, Meals & Admission
- CIVIC & CULTURAL ROOTSAnchored at San Francisco's Historic AAACC
// Event architecture: three tracks, one roof
- TRACK 1
Competitive Hardware & Simulation Sprint
For Bay Area youth STEM builders (middle and high school preferred; younger youth evaluated by readiness) diving into hands-on 6-DoF arm manipulation, Isaac Sim / MuJoCo physics, and autonomous ground mobility.
- TRACK 2
Community Tech Literacy & Digital Rights Forum
An intergenerational forum for families, seniors, educators, and community attendees exploring AI ethics, digital sovereignty, surveillance policy, and neighborhood innovation.
- TRACK 3
The Grand Community Showcase
Arena demonstrations, obstacle agility runs, live project pitches, and partner exhibitions.
Presented by
Looking Back at Where the Roots Began
Explore how 50 youth builders, community cohorts, and frontier mentors made history at the inaugural September 26, 2026 showcase.
[ Explore the RoboRoots 1.0 Archive & Master Run of Show ➔ ]
Live // Free to play
Physical AI Sim Lab // Hosted by Kai & Nia
Train in the sim. Unlock the real hardware.
Kai and Nia guide you through eight missions in your browser, from stacking bricks with an SO-101 arm to keeping a G1 humanoid upright. Every cleared mission earns a collectible card for your pilot dossier.
- M01–M03SO-101 arm kinematics
- M04–M06Sim2Real control & Go2 locomotion
- M07–M08Bimanual handoff & G1 humanoid balance
Beyond the Arena: Shape the Frontier of Physical AI
RoboRoots is building a continuous ecosystem for community hardware sovereignty. Join our membership program to access hands-on 6-DoF robotic manipulators, local GPU simulation pods, and real-world embodied AI workflows at the African American Art & Culture Complex.
- 01 // EMBODIED HARDWARE ACCESS
Priority checkout of SO-101 robotic arms, tactile sensors, and edge controllers.
- 02 // SIM2REAL COMPUTE PODS
Dedicated local GPU hours on Isaac Lab and MuJoCo simulation clusters.
- 03 // MENTOR ALLIANCE
Direct weekly office hours with industry practitioners and university researchers.
// Event Overview
Real hardware. Real mentors. Real impact.
Hands-On Physical AI
Work directly with Unitree G1 Humanoids, Go2 Quadrupeds, and custom micro-controllers.
Youth Workforce Pipeline
Connecting middle and high school cohorts directly to industry mentors, VCs, and tech leaders.
Community & Heritage
Grounded in San Francisco's Fillmore community in partnership with AAACC and the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
// Competition Tracks
Choose your challenge.
Humanoid & Quadruped Heterogeneous Fleet Coopetition
Command a mixed fleet of humanoid and quadruped robots that must cooperate and compete simultaneously. Teams orchestrate multi-agent behavior, task hand-offs, and shared perception across heterogeneous hardware.
// Cohorts & Partners
Backed by a coalition of makers.
Co-Presenters
Strategic & Tech Partners
// FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Bay Area student cohorts, student-athletes, and youth developers (middle school to high school / CTE pathways).
No, participation is 100% free for all invited student builders, including hardware usage, mentorship, and daily catering.
Tiered sponsorship packages (from $500–$10k Contributors up to a $75k Title Sponsor) are available for hardware suppliers, food vendors, and corporate partners.