Kenneth Sohn ‘27 took the global stage at the 22nd International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (UR 2025), in Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (on July 1st and 2nd, 2025), together with his friend and co-presenter, Antonio Gerber, a student at the Watkinson School.

The conference reviewers selected their presentation based on the abstract they submitted, titled “Balloid: Miniature Humanoid with Hybrid Design for Increased Mobility,” which introduced their innovative prototype robot. Their robot features three distinct movement modes: bipedal walking, similar to a person; differential-drive movement, similar to a vehicle; and momentum-based rolling, similar to a skateboarder. Their project is dedicated to promoting educational equity by providing a low-cost, versatile robotics platform for students and schools in underprivileged areas and developing countries. By making robotics more accessible, Kenneth and Antonio hope to inspire the next generation of builders and programmers worldwide.