Behind the Scenes: Robotics Lunch and Learn – Startup Edition

What does it look like when entrepreneurs, engineers, and researchers come together to experiment with real-world robotics?

At Rose City Robotics, we brought that vision to life with our Robotics Lunch and Learn: Startup Edition—a hands-on technical workshop focused on the cutting edge of robotics, AI, and human-computer interaction. Designed for those shaping the next era of automation, the event welcomed early-stage founders, academic researchers, industry experts, and curious builders.

Held at the intersection of theory and practice, this session blended a live technical talk with real-time demos of our dual-arm, open-source robot modeled after Stanford’s ALOHA system.

What We Explored

Led by Joseph Cole, PhD, the workshop began with a deep dive into transformer neural networks and their growing role in physical AI systems. Attendees explored the current state of robotics and where the field is heading, especially as machine learning continues to unlock new capabilities in motion control and task learning.

After the talk, the group broke for lunch and moved into hands-on exploration with ALOHA, engaging directly with live teleoperation demos and dataset collection exercises.

Meet ALOHA: Open-Source Dual-Arm Robot

At the core of the experience was ALOHA, a robotic system built by Stanford to mimic natural human motion using wearable sensors. When a human operator moves their arms, ALOHA's dual robotic arms mirror those motions in real time.

The system includes:

• Two leader arms - operated by a human for teleoperation
• Two robotic follower arms that follow joint movements
• Three onboard video cameras
• A laptop to record visual and joint data

This setup enables the creation of rich datasets for training robots to perform tasks autonomously. Stanford’s research has shown that with as few as 50–100 examples of a task, transformer-based models can teach a robot to replicate it with 85–95% accuracy.

At the workshop, attendees collected data, stacked blocks, ran teleoperation trials, and navigated real-world hardware challenges together—all while contributing directly to ongoing open-source robotics development.

This wasn’t just a lecture—it was an invitation to learn by doing. Participants left with practical insight into physical AI, new connections in the robotics space, and firsthand experience working with a real-world robotic system. By blending technical depth, open experimentation, and peer-to-peer exchange, the event showcased what’s possible when a curious community comes together around the tools shaping our future.

Stay in the Loop

We host ongoing workshops, technical events, and community-building gatherings throughout the year.
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