10/14/2026
DPRG October meeting: Learn to program a robot using AI workshop
Full, up to date details at https://tinyurl.com/PicoAiBotFlyer
WHAT
The October 24th DPRG monthly meeting will offer a workshop where participants will receive training and hands-on experience learning how to use an AI to program a Raspberry Pi (RPi) Pico microcontroller programmed with the Arduino environment and make it drive a real robot. There will be a mystery Robot Motion Challenge.
WHEN, WHERE
The workshop will begin at 10am, Saturday 10/24 in the Dallas Makerspace North Lobby classroom, 1825 Monetary Lane, Carrollton. Pizza lunch will be provided at noon and the workshop will end before 2pm.
The workshop will be available to remote participants via Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/mwm-imzg-rss. Robot Motion will not be possible.
Hardware will be provided to 10 people, with paid-up DPRG members given priority. They will have robot access and hands-on help. Become a new DPRG member here: https://www.dprg.org/become-a-new-member/
RSVP to [email protected] and I will confirm you by 10/21. There is no cost.
GENERAL INFO
You will need to bring your own laptop, with Arduino IDE and RPi Pico support pre-loaded. All other hardware will be provided for shared use, and will be retained by the DPRG. You will need working wifi on your laptop. We will be using a free online AI (Google Gemini) to assist.
This is NOT a learn-to-write-software class. It is about How to use AI to Write Robot Software that makes Hardware Move.
Each participant will develop and test using an RPi Pico mounted on an interposer board with LEDs that indicate drive motor power. The interposer can then be plugged into a shared robot for Robot-Motion testing. Remote participants who have built their own hardware may be able to participate in The Challenge.
Knowledge Prerequisite: Ideally some coding knowledge, preferably Arduino based c++, and be familiar with programming constructs like functions, loops and if() statements.
Laptop Requirements:
Windows 10 or newer, Linux, or macOS Monterey or newer
Wifi and one USB Connection, type A (the big rectangular USB plug). If you have a Mac or modern laptop that only has USB-C, bring an adapter to USB-A
Preparation (Required - READ CAREFULLY)
Install Arduino IDE v2 and RPi Pico software beforehand using instructions here: https://tinyurl.com/PicoAiBotSwInstall
Remote participants can build the required hardware using instructions here: https://tinyurl.com/PicoAiBotHwBuild
You will not be able to load the required software during the workshop - there isn’t sufficient wifi bandwidth at Dallas Makerspace.
Questions: [email protected]
WORKSHOP CONTENT
Theory:
Workflow: AI Prompt Engineering -> hardware
Robot + RPi Pico overview
PWM and motor speed control
Hands-on:
Load and run an example sketch on the RPi Pico - confirm LED operation
Ask AI to write code. Run the code on the RPi Pico
Design a solution to “The Challenge” and ask AI to write code that implements your design
Test the code on the RPi Pico. If it works, test it on the robot. If it doesn't, ask AI to help you debug it.
