Robotics lab planning checklist

Most of what makes a robotics lab work or not is decided before any hardware arrives. This is the list we work through with schools, in the order the decisions actually bind.

Space and layout

• Bench height suitable for the age group. A bench sized for adults slows younger builders noticeably.
• Floor area for driving and testing that is not the same area as the benches.
• A test surface that matches what you will compete or demonstrate on.
• Clear sightlines from the instructor position to every bench.
• Room to walk behind seated learners carrying a robot.

Power

• Outlets at bench level, not only along the walls. Trailing extension leads under a robotics bench are a hazard.
• Enough circuits that simultaneous charging does not trip anything.
• A defined charging station with supervision, not batteries charging on benches overnight.
• Somewhere safe to store batteries that is not the same drawer as loose metal parts.

Storage: the one most often underestimated

• One labelled bin per team, deep enough to hold a partly-built robot assembled.
• Shelving depth checked against your largest chassis, not your smallest.
• Separate small-parts storage. Mixed fasteners cost more session time than any other single thing.
• A spares drawer with a named owner who restocks it.

Network and software

• Whether the devices learners program on can reach what they need through the school's filtering.
• Driver and firmware installation rights. A locked-down image that cannot see a microcontroller stops a session dead.
• Somewhere learner work is saved that survives a device being reimaged.

Safety

• Eye protection stored at the point of use, not in a cupboard.
• A written rule for who may use cutting and soldering equipment, and when.
• First aid provision that accounts for burns and cuts, not just general injury.
• Ventilation wherever soldering or 3D printing happens.

Recurring, not one-time

• A consumables budget line: motors, connectors, wheels, filament, fasteners.
• Time for someone to maintain kits between terms.
• A second trained staff member, so the program survives a staffing change.