When Joe Cole, PhD gives his talk this weekend to the Portland Area RoboTics Society (P.A.R.T.S.), it won't be a formal lecture hall moment, but an intimate gathering of passionate hackers in a local hackerspace, a place where real ideas spark and technical minds connect to build physical hardware.
As co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Director of Technology and Vision at Rose City Robotics, an open-startup committed to transparency, equity, and elite robotics education, Dr. Cole brings decades of experience in computer vision, machine learning, and applied physics. His career includes work at Northrop Grumman, Applied Materials, YorLabs, and the U.S. Army reserves. Still, his driving passion has always been making advanced robotics accessible to students, hobbyists, and curious minds everywhere.
At the P.A.R.T.S. meetup this Sunday, Dr. Cole will share his work on the Robo-Fetch project, an autonomous ball thrower designed to give his dog endless playtime. But beneath the surface, this project tackles some of the thorniest challenges in robotics today:
- Kinematic calculations for the Robotis OpenManipulator-X arm
- Digital twin development, building simulations first in Blender with plans to migrate to NVIDIA’s IsaacSim platform for synthitic training data generation
- AI visual feedback and ball detection, testing the limits of current computer vision models in a dynamic, real-world setting
This talk also gives a peek behind the curtain of Dr. Cole’s development process for the second module of Rose City Robotics’ course, Mechanical Control Systems for Robotics, a hands-on curriculum designed to take students deep into the real math and mechanics that drive cutting-edge robot arms.
For Dr. Cole, this is more than a weekend tinkering project. It’s an exploration of how robotics can move from static, pre-programmed tasks to flexible, perception-driven actions, a leap essential for everything from manufacturing automation to assistive technologies. It marks a larger shift in the robotics paradigm: moving from simply programming robots to truly teaching robots how to understand and interact with the world.
Lessons for the Robotics Community
In his session, Dr. Cole plans to share the hard-won lessons from the Robo-Fetch journey: where current AI tools shine, where they fall short, and how hobbyist-level projects can open doors to deep technical learning. It’s a message that resonates strongly with the mission of Rose City Robotics: real projects, real code, real outcomes.
Through RCR, Dr. Cole and his co-founder Duncan Miller are redefining robotics education. Their programs don’t just teach students to follow tutorials; they guide them to build GitHub-worthy portfolios, earn NVIDIA certifications, and develop the problem-solving grit that elite universities and future employers look for. As Dr. Cole puts it, “We don’t do passive learning. We do real robotics engineering.”
Beyond the Talk: Rose City Robotics' Broader Mission
Rose City Robotics isn’t just another edtech brand. As an open-startup, the company puts transparency, equity, and sustainability at its core. From mentoring high school interns to developing robotics systems for environmental impact (like critical mineral recovery from e-waste), RCR is as much about shaping a better world as it is about building better robots.
For families in the robotics community, especially the elite STEM parents who want every opportunity to count, Dr. Cole’s work offers a powerful proof point: this is where passion, rigor, and mentorship intersect.
Don’t Miss This Event
If you’re a robotics student looking to level up, a parent eager to see what serious technical projects look like, or simply someone fascinated by the future of autonomous systems, this small P.A.R.T.S. meetup with Dr. Cole is a rare chance to engage up close.
Event: Autonomous Manipulation Using the Robotis OpenManipulator-X
Speaker: Joe Cole, PhD
Hosted by: Portland Area RoboTics Society (P.A.R.T.S.)
Date: Sunday June 1st, 10:30am-1:30pm
Register: https://www.meetup.com/ctrl-h/events/308107950/
Ready to build your own robotics future? Apply now for Rose City Robotics' selective programs, only 200 students admitted per year. Build robots. Get into Stanford. Change the world.
Duncan Miller
Co-founder / Learning and Impact
Duncan is a software engineer with over 20 years of experience as an education technology founder. He has expertise in curriculum development, machine learning, AI robotics and clean energy. Duncan earned an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College and is a faculty member at the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Accelerator. He lives on an extinct cinder cone volcano with his wife and two children in Portland Oregon. He is passionate about artificial intelligence, robotics, climate solutions, public benefit companies, employee-owned co-operatives and social entrepreneurship.