Engineering the Future

UplinkRobotics founders mentor the next-generation of engineers through 4-H clubs and more.

In 2022, four University of Wyoming students launched UplinkRobotics, earning support for the company in the annual Ellbogen Entrepreneurship $50K Competition and from UW’s IMPACT 307, a statewide network of innovation-driven business incubators.

The four founders are Christian Bitzas, Brady Wagstaff, Oreoluwa Babatunde and Zoe Worthen. First, they successfully launched two inspection crawler robots. Now they are expanding into robots for first responders. For example, the robots can go into burning or collapsing buildings to inspect them without endangering humans or aid SWAT teams by entering dangerous situations first.

“We’re now a team of 10,” Bitzas says. “Most folks we hired attended UW, and that’s our goal — we want to keep jobs in Wyoming.”

Next-Generation Engineers

When Bitzas was growing up in Powell, his high school offered a FIRST Tech Challenge club.

“That’s how I got interested in robotics, and that’s why I went into engineering,” he says.

After helping to start Uplink, he learned that not all schools offer robotics opportunities and home-schooled children are also left out. Bitzas and his fellow founders decided to do something about that, partnering with Albany County 4-H to create a FIRST Robotics Club. 

“We currently have kids ages 8 to 14, and we teach them how to build robots, and they compete in competitions,” Bitzas says. “So, once they’re in high school or college, they have a leg up when it comes to engineering and STEM.”

The instruction includes basic coding and various challenges where the robots perform activities such as lifting.

Twelve-year-old Kaleb Strain is a member of the FIRST Robotics Club. “One of my favorite parts of robotics is the teamwork,” he says. “I’ve also really learned a lot about coding. Now I also enjoy helping our new members with robotics.”

Uplink founders help with the club, and they hope to expand it for high school students.

“We love seeing the students come in knowing nothing about robots, then they make the robot move and do something, and they just light up — that’s what drives us to do this work,” Bitzas says. “Our long-term goal is to grow the club, bring more opportunities to students and also eventually create workshops where students can learn about things like 3D printing or how to build a drone, for example, or even how to create a startup and get engaged in entrepreneurship.”

But Uplink doesn’t stop there. It also sponsors senior design projects in the UW College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Last year, seniors worked on a pipe inspection robot. This year, they’re challenged with making a construction robot to carry heavy building materials around job sites.

Uplink’s ultimate goal is to create more tech jobs in Wyoming. “Wyoming’s biggest export is UW graduates,” Bitzas says. But thanks to many motivated startups and alumni, things won’t be that way for long.