Pittsburgh Robotics & AI Discovery Day 2025
By Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
On November 5, 2025, Pittsburgh’s robotics and AI community gathered at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for the fourth annual Robotics & AI Discovery Day, hosted by the Pittsburgh Robotics Network (PRN). With more than 150 exhibitors showcasing groundbreaking technologies, the event highlighted the region’s growing role as a global leader in robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence.
This year’s event brought together students, educators, innovators, and industry professionals to explore how robotics and AI are shaping the future of work and education. The energy throughout the day was a reflection of Pittsburgh’s unique robotics ecosystem, where research, education, and industry all converge.
Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy at Discovery Day
The Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (CMRA) joined the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) to present a shared booth demonstrating how robotics education and industry innovation connect.
NREC featured a live machine vision display that captured attendees on camera and overlaid pose estimation and segmentation data to illustrate how robots perceive and analyze human movement in real time.
CMRA complemented that display with a JetBot running PoseNet, which also detected and visualized human joints to demonstrate the same principles through accessible, student-level technology. This connection helped visitors see how the same concepts used in cutting-edge industry applications can be taught in K–12 classrooms.
The CMRA booth also featured a variety of robotics platforms used in its STEM education programs, including LEGO SPIKE Prime, REV Duo, Arduino, and Jetson Nano systems. Visitors could also try out interactive game stations featuring Acceleration City, a co-designed player-programmed partner game that has attracted nearly 4 million active users in the past year.
Throughout the day, students, teachers, parents, and company representatives stopped by to explore how CMRA’s hands-on robotics curriculum prepares learners for the skills and technologies that drive modern robotics. Kids especially gravitated toward the games, while educators and employers were excited to see how these tools can help build the next generation of robotics talent.
Highlights and Takeaways
One of the most exciting aspects of Discovery Day was the level of engagement among K–12 students. The combination of educational robotics and interactive gaming created an environment that was both approachable and inspiring. Many young visitors were surprised to learn that the same technologies they saw in the NREC demos could be explored using platforms available to schools and after-school programs.
The connection between CMRA and NREC also highlighted how education and industry can work hand-in-hand to build a stronger robotics workforce. By showing students how their classroom learning connects directly to professional applications, Discovery Day reinforced the importance of early exposure to robotics, coding, and AI.
Finally, the event served as a reminder that Pittsburgh continues to lead the way in robotics and AI innovation. From industrial automation to agriculture and autonomous systems, the region’s companies, universities, and educators are creating clear pathways for students to enter meaningful, future-focused careers.