Robot Fight Club
Robot Fight Club: Build & Battle Autonomous Robots with a YC Robotics Startup. A 4–8 weeks Intravarsity career experience (30–50 hours) for school and undergr
This is not a classroom exercise. You're embedded with a real robotics startup on Floor 5 of our San Francisco campus. Using their industrial 3D printers, CNC machines, and robotic arms, you'll design and build an autonomous combat robot from scratch. Your work contributes to the startup's R&D on locomotion systems. Week 4 ends with a live arena battle judged by VCs and founders.
You'll join a real YC-backed robotics team inside our San Francisco campus Maker Lab. Design, fabricate, and program a combat-ready autonomous robot — then battle it in front of startup founders.
Who it is for
High school, secondary school students & undergraduates. No robotics experience required — just willingness to build with your hands.
Weekly plan
Week 1: Startup Onboarding & Design Sprint
- Meet your robotics startup team and tour their production line
- Learn servo motors, chassis design, and power systems from their CTO
- Design your robot concept in Fusion 360 and get engineer feedback
- 3D print your first chassis prototype on industrial Prusa machines
Week 2: Build & Wire
- Assemble chassis, motors, and custom circuit boards
- Wire up ultrasonic + IR sensors for autonomous obstacle detection
- Program motor control and basic navigation in Python
- Pair-code with a startup engineer on real-time control systems
Week 3: Autonomous Intelligence
- Implement attack/defense movement strategies using state machines
- Add machine learning-based opponent prediction using sensor data
- Stress-test electrical and mechanical systems under combat conditions
- Iterate on weight distribution with the startup's hardware team
Week 4: Arena Day & Startup Demo
- Final calibration, safety checks, and arena practice rounds
- Compete in the Intravarsity Robot Arena at our San Francisco campus
- Present your engineering process to VCs and hardware founders
- Receive a verified Proof-of-Work credential and startup recommendation
What you produce
- Fully functional autonomous combat robot
- Engineering design portfolio with CAD files
- Video documentation of build process
- Startup mentor recommendation letter
- Intravarsity Proof-of-Work credential
Skills
Mechatronics, Python, CAD (Fusion 360), Sensor Fusion, 3D Printing, Circuit Design, Autonomous Systems, Startup Engineering
Commitment
~5–8 hours/week for 4–8 weeks (30–50 hours total). In-person in San Francisco with the host company.