Getting Back to Embark’s Roots at the FIRST Robotics World Championship
The Little Robots fund supports FIRST competitors from Canada to empower the next generation of engineers.
Last month, members of Embark’s engineering & operations teams traveled with me to Houston to showcase the world of autonomous trucking to over 30,000 youth roboticists taking part in the FIRST Robotics World Championship! In Houston, we got to meet with FIRST leadership as well students from the four FIRST Robotics teams that Embark has proudly sponsored through our Little Robots initiative.
Coming Full Circle
For me, this trip was a deeply personal and engaging way to revisit Embark’s roots. I’m a proud FIRST alumnus, and I believe strongly in the practical value (and the fun) of competitive robotics. It’s the best way for kids to get hands-on with engineering projects, while building invaluable leadership skills in a tight-knit team environment.
Last weekend’s trip brought back a lot of memories!
Although I haven’t been to the World Championship in 7 years, prior to that I spent many years competing in FIRST. Attending the World Championship and seeing cool robots from around the world was always the highlight of my year! I was 11 years old when I joined my middle school’s FIRST LEGO robotics team. A year later, I was a world champion in the 2008–2009 FIRST Tech Challenge. In high school, I founded a FIRST team — Alberta Tech Alliance (Team 4334) — and continued to compete until I went to study at the University of Waterloo, where I served as an adult mentor to a FIRST team (Team 1114).
All those years of robotics experience led Brandon Moak and me to build Canada’s first self-driving vehicle to run on a public road — the now-famous golf cart, Marvin. After that, we were accepted into Y Combinator and founded Embark in 2016.
For me, FIRST planted the seed that would grow into Embark. Managing a competitive robotics team embodies many of the same team dynamics that I see as CEO at Embark as we tackle one of the biggest engineering moonshots in the world today — building and scaling commercial autonomous truck software.
Meeting our “First” Little Robots
Just over a month ago, Embark announced that I would be donating my 2022 salary and bonus to launch Little Robots, a grant fund designed to give young roboticists the support they need to pursue their passion for technology and give them a head start on their careers. Our first donation went to the Afghan Girls Robotics Team to support members’ education and competitive robotics fees.
Now, I’m thrilled to share that the next donation made through the Little Robots Fund has been awarded to FIRST Canada and four top Canadian FIRST teams to support their travel and costs to attend the world championships. I know from my own experience that this funding is helping give teams access to the biggest contest of their lives!
Huge shoutout to teams 4421, 1114, 2056, and 5406, and kudos on a very successful run at the Championship!
I firmly believe that the next generation of engineers will get their start through programs such as FIRST. It was a joy to attend this year’s championship, and I’m excited to continue paying it forward to youth STEM initiatives through Little Robots.
Do you have a unique robotics or STEM project you’re working on? The Little Robots Fund is open for applications and reviewing submissions on a rolling basis. If you’re interested in seeking funding, please review the eligibility criteria and submit an application at: www.littlerobotsfund.com.
