Mexican EPICS Team Builds Portable Robotics Learning Platform
In Guadalajara, Mexico, many high schools have motivated teachers and talented students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, they lack access to advanced tools such as robotics laboratories, limiting hands-on learning opportunities. A team from ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, aims to change that.
Through the EPICS in IEEE initiative, a multidisciplinary group of 15 engineering students, faculty advisors, and IEEE Guadalajara Section volunteers developed RoboMeshA. The portable, self-contained educational platform brings robotics and AI experiences into classrooms. EPICS is administered by IEEE Educational Activities and funded by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
Rather than requiring a school to build a dedicated computer lab or install complex software, RoboMeshA operates as an all-in-one mobile learning network. Team member Fernando Vidal Luna, an IEEE student member and mechatronics engineering major at ITESO, said RoboMeshA brings robotics and AI to students who lack specialized facilities or preinstalled software. Students connect directly to the platform from a user-friendly web browser.
They can interact with the robot manually or use its control modes to watch it move and detect and avoid obstacles. Faculty advisor Jorge A. Lizarraga said the project combines mechanical design, embedded systems, control engineering, computer vision, and AI into a single robotic system that functions as a mobile learning laboratory. The team says young students are interested in technology, programming, and robotics but rarely have the opportunity to work with systems combining mechanics, electronics, software, and control.
Team member José S. González, also a mechatronics engineering student, said RoboMeshA allows students to see how these disciplines work together in a tangible and understandable way. The team has built two units and is developing a modular coupling framework to expand the system’s capabilities for research and classroom demonstrations. The structured design approach connects independent software components while minimizing internal dependencies, enabling four RoboMeshA robots to operate together.
The team faced significant hurdles while designing the project. Luna said one key challenge involved the robot’s structural design. It was not only about making a chassis where all components fit with sufficient stability, rigidity, and weight distribution. It was also about ensuring the electronics were protected while remaining accessible for maintenance, testing, and modifications.
González added that designing a platform usable by students with different experience levels was also challenging. The team partnered with CETI Colomos and Prepa ITESO high schools to validate the platform in classroom settings. González said the team wanted the first interactions with the robot to be simple and intuitive. Students could simply power the robot, connect to its network, and begin interacting, rather than dealing with software installation, extensive configuration, or troubleshooting.
Many students who participated were from ITESO’s applied professional projects program. The experience offered practical training in project management, system integration, and user-centered design. The team also presented a research paper and a project poster in May at the Engineering Congress of the Jesuit University System.
González said seeing a design move from a digital model to a physical system was invaluable. Working with students from different backgrounds taught the team to listen to end users and design for their actual needs. Project lead Luis Fernando Luque-Vega, an IEEE member, said he would like the venture to serve as a blueprint for engineering education.
Luque-Vega said he hopes RoboMeshA is adopted by schools, universities, and IEEE student branches across Mexico and internationally as a model for integrating technical innovation with community engagement. By pairing engineering talent with community service, initiatives such as EPICS in IEEE demonstrate how targeted support can turn academic concepts into real-world solutions. Luque-Vega said when students realize the technology they develop can inspire others and improve lives, engineering becomes far more meaningful. For more information on service-learning opportunities, visit the EPICS website.