Mesa Elementary students help shape future of food delivery robots

MESA, AZ — The future of robotics is rolling into a Mesa classroom, where K-8 STEM Academy Red Mountain students are getting hands-on experience working with state-of-the-art technology and directly impacting the next generation of food-delivery robots.

Inside the school’s after-school robotics club, a group of fifth graders is using Sphero robots — small, rolling spheres donated by DoorDash — to navigate obstacle courses, solve engineering challenges, and spark their creativity.

“This group is brilliant. They think of things I would never imagine,” said Forrest Rhodes, a math and science teacher at Red Mountain Ranch. “They’re really looking to see what other creative aspects we can think of from these minds who aren’t bound by the traditional boundaries that you would have as an engineer or computer scientist.”

Each week, students use lesson plans designed by DoorDash to program the Sphero robots, running trials that mimic the work real delivery robots do on Mesa’s bike paths. The red robots, seen frequently by residents, operate at speeds up to 16 miles per hour to bring food straight to customers’ doors.

But there’s more to these classroom projects than learning to code. DoorDash analyzes feedback from the students, using their ideas and problem-solving skills — sometimes unexpected ones — to refine real-world delivery robot functions.

“You have to be really creative to work with them,” said student Addisyn Barnes. “It’s like a challenge, and I really like challenges, especially when it’s like, ‘roll forward 15 centimeters,’ but the robot may not know what 15 centimeters is.”

Fellow club member Soren Shreder Anderson added, “I think it’s really cool and very interesting to learn about and experience. It’s very adaptable, so if you need it to do something else, you can change it.”

Rhodes said the collaboration is a two-way street, with students often teaching teachers about advanced technology as they learn.

DoorDash has several garages packed with robots around the Valley, underscoring a commitment to innovation and community engagement. About 200 of them are based in Mesa, according to employees at the company’s facility off Broadway in Mesa.

The partnership gives students a unique opportunity to play a role in a rapidly evolving industry, showing how the next generation is shaping the technology of tomorrow — all from their classroom in Mesa.