First understand what UIUC researchers are trying to learn through SIGRobotics / ACM@UIUC, why the question matters, how they test it, and what the result cannot prove. Change the weight and floor friction of a simulated LeKiwi robot and watch how its movement changes. The student then completes A LeKiwi design tool for changing robot settings, checking collision risk, and comparing movement. For a college application or interview, the student separates the source research from their feature, interface, tests, failures, and revisions. Available online or in person in Apgujeong, in one-to-one or small-group formats.
University and lab names show where each public project came from. CIT independently designed these courses; they are not official university courses, partnerships, or endorsements.
8guided sessions
2-4 hoursto the first small project
Beginnerrecommended level
Not requiredphysical robot
Primary routes
Choose the student's primary AI education and portfolio route
CIT keeps the international-school route first, followed by the separate science and gifted-school route.
CIT lessons can run online across Korea and overseas or in person in Apgujeong. The student owns the question, code, tests and explanation; classes do not guarantee admission, selection or awards, and online delivery never changes an institution's submission rules.
How does changing a robot's weight or floor friction change the way it moves?
Change the body, wheels, joints, weight, and friction of a simulated robot and see how each value affects its motion.
Students first use a small working example to understand the researchers' question, method, and evidence. A controlled change helps identify what the student's extension must solve. The student then implements a useful feature, connects an operator interface, and tests the integrated application in normal, boundary, and failure cases.
What will the student complete?
A LeKiwi design tool for changing robot settings, checking collision risk, and comparing movement
The final package includes runnable instructions, the feature and interface design, normal and failure tests, one documented revision, and a three-minute explanation in the student's own words.
Feature
A feature that warns about joint limits and collision risk before running a route with selected wheel size, joint range, and weight
Operator interface
A simulated-robot configurator that lets students choose settings and replay before-and-after motion side by side
Integrated result
A LeKiwi design tool for changing robot settings, checking collision risk, and comparing movement
Four ideas explained in this course
01parts of the robot body
02joints and motors
03weight and floor friction
04target points along a route
Eight introductory sessions
Understand the research, then build and test a working robotics application
The 20 courses are eight-session CIT studios in which students understand a public university or lab project, confirm a working example, and then turn it into a small robotics application with a useful feature and an operator interface. Selected courses add an optional LLM explanation tool that can read run records but cannot control the robot. RoboMaster has 28 sessions, and implementation scope is adjusted to each student's experience and computer access.
Understand the source
01
Open the simulated LeKiwi robot
02
Read body, joint, and motor settings
Measure and compare
03
Locate cameras and sensors
04
Move the wheels and arm
Build a feature
05
Change only weight or friction
06
Implement the student-owned feature: A feature that warns about joint limits and collision risk before running a route with selected wheel size, joint range, and weight
Integrate and demonstrate
07
Build the operator interface: A simulated-robot configurator that lets students choose settings and replay before-and-after motion side by side
08
Integrate, test, and demonstrate: A LeKiwi design tool for changing robot settings, checking collision risk, and comparing movement
Public project used in class
See the exact version CIT reviewed
Public projects can change over time. To keep the class example consistent, CIT uses version c3e38133450b of SIGRobotics-UIUC/LeKiwi-sim. CIT checked it on 2026-08-14; it was created on 2025-02-23. Usage-rights note: No license file found at review; inspect upstream terms before reuse.
licence No license file found at review; inspect upstream terms before reuse
text files 5
The student changes one value in a robot model file and sees how the motion changes. In class the project is separated into five boxes (input, memory, process, output, control). The lesson opens one of them, changes one value, and leaves the rest closed.
Inputopened hereWhat comes in?
The model files that write the robot's links, joints, wheels and the floor as numbers
MemoryWhat persists?
Joint angles and speeds are held by the physics program while it runs
ProcessWhat transforms?
Solving forces and contacts happens in the physics program, not in this repository
OutputWhat leaves, and who uses it?
The picture and the logs appear while it runs and are not kept here
ControlWhat decides when anything runs?
How many steps run, and when, is decided by whatever program loads this model
The files the lesson opens, by name. The course is not a walk through the repository; it opens a chosen few and says which.
One value moves and everything else stays. The right-hand column is the prediction written before the run, not a result; the work is reconciling the two.
The universities and labs named here made the open projects this course reads. CIT designed the course independently; it is not an official, affiliated, or endorsed course.
Clear answers about what students do, what they need, and where the project came from.
Is UIUC LeKiwi: Build and Test a Simulated Robot an official course from UIUC SIGRobotics, ACM@UIUC?
University and lab names show where each public project came from. CIT independently designed these courses; they are not official university courses, partnerships, or endorsements.
Is hardware required?
Not required. The course starts with a robot on the computer or a saved recording of a completed run. Computer guidance: Standard laptop.
What background should a student have?
Recommended level: Beginner. Students should be able to follow a guided Python example, test one controlled change, and then build and explain a small feature and interface.
What will the student make?
The completed project is A LeKiwi design tool for changing robot settings, checking collision risk, and comparing movement. The student implements A feature that warns about joint limits and collision risk before running a route with selected wheel size, joint range, and weight and A simulated-robot configurator that lets students choose settings and replay before-and-after motion side by side.
How can the student use this project in a college application?
Explain the source research question, method, evidence, and limits first. Then separate the student's own feature and interface decisions, normal and failure tests, revisions, and next question. The source institution's name does not imply affiliation or guarantee admission.
Which project version does the course use?
CIT reviewed version c3e38133450b of SIGRobotics-UIUC/LeKiwi-sim on 2026-08-14. That version was created on 2025-02-23. We keep this version during class so the example does not change unexpectedly, and we check the setup again before teaching.
Can UIUC LeKiwi: Build and Test a Simulated Robot be taken online or in person, one-to-one or in a small group?
Yes. This course is offered online and in person at CIT in Apgujeong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with one-to-one and small-group options. Placement and current availability are confirmed after a readiness consultation.
Is this a good first project for this student?
Before placement, we check the student's coding and math experience, available computer, interests, and ability to explain what happened.
Georgia Tech: Robot Sensors and Position FindingRun an example in which a robot uses a map and sensor readings to find its position. Graph how its estimate...→
RoboMaster: Responding to Voice, Gesture, and Vision SafelyCombine voice, gesture, camera, and distance signals to move a robot. Build safeguards that stop it when...→
Stanford robosuite: How Robot Arms Pick Up ObjectsRun a simulated robot arm that lifts an object or opens a door. Change the camera position and movement method...→