AlphAI and LEGO Spike in Atlanta at the Georgia Institute Of Technology: a bridge between AI and educational robotics in the United States

On June 11, 2025, on the prestigious campus of the Georgia Institute Of Technology, an inspiring experiment was born: a workshop combining artificial intelligence, educational robotics and transatlantic collaboration. Hosted by Thomas Deneux, founder of Learning Robots, accompanied by Clément Lavenu, an intern at Learning Robots, and supervised by Tufts University in Boston, the workshop brought together teachers involved in the AI4GA program for a hands-on immersion in machine learning.

AlphAI meets LEGO Spike

At the heart of the workshop, the AlphAI / LEGO Spike duo enabled participants to build a waste sorting robot, capable of distinguishing and separating objects according to their color. But beyond the mechanical construction, it was the cognitive dimension of the robot that was explored: participants trained the on-board artificial intelligence so that the robot could learn to sort accurately, even in complex cases such as distinguishing magenta from other nearby colors.

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This experiment gradually introduced fundamental notions of machine learning, in particular the role of intermediate layers of neurons, essential for fine classification tasks. Teachers were able to get hands-on with the concepts of neural networks, supervised learning and generalization, in a fun, interactive setting.

A workshop born of mutual recognition

This link-up between Learning Robots and the AI4GA program is no coincidence. At the EAAI25 conference in Philadelphia last February, Thomas Deneux's presentation aroused the interest of AI4GA program managers, who saw AlphAI as an ideal tool for making the inner workings of AI accessible to high school students.

AI4GA is a continuation of the AI4K12 program, a pioneering initiative which, for over ten years, has been designing specifications and activities to integrate artificial intelligence into secondary education in the USA. The state of Georgia, in particular, is actively engaged through AI4GA in offering ambitious training courses to its teachers. The invitation to take part in this working week at Georgia Tech is a strong illustration of this.

A bridge between research, training and experimentation

The workshop provided an opportunity for a rich exchange between experts, teachers and those involved in education. The presence and support of key figures in the field, such as Christina Gardner-McCune, Amy Eguchi and Dave Touretzky, brought further recognition to the relevance of the approach proposed by Learning Robots: making AI an object of learning that is active, comprehensible and manipulable.

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By combining the educational power of LEGO Spike robotics with the explanatory capabilities of AlphAI software, participants were able to enjoy an immersive, accessible and engaging experience. This approach is fully in line with Learning Robots' vision of democratizing artificial intelligence through hands-on experience, and acculturating all audiences - teachers and students alike - to its mechanisms.

Towards new collaborations

On the strength of this first successful experience, Learning Robots will be continuing its collaboration with the AI4GA program teams. New activities are already in the pipeline, with a view to integrating AlphAI into future American teaching modules. This recognition confirms the international scope of the proposed approach, and the importance of AI education rooted in concrete manipulation, progressive understanding and collective creativity.

This experience shows the extent to which bridges between continents, institutions and disciplines are essential to meet the major challenge of our century: making everyone an informed citizen of the digital world. What if the best way to learn about AI was to bring it to life in our own hands, in contact with colorful bricks and friendly algorithms?

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