Squat: A Squash Robot Built by Students, for Everyone

Most squash players never get enough one-on-one court time with a coach. Private coaching is expensive, coach availability is limited, and the players who need development the most — kids in underserved programs — are the last to get it. That's the problem we set out to solve.

Squat is an autonomous squash robot being built by 13 students at Concord Academy in Massachusetts under the name SquashBotics. It uses onboard stereo cameras and an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano — a powerful edge-AI computer — to detect and track the squash ball in real time, navigate the court on omnidirectional wheels, and return shots back to the player. It's a coach-assist tool, not a coach replacement: it frees human coaches to focus on teaching while the robot handles the necessary repetition.

How it works: Two synchronized high-framerate cameras feed a YOLOv8 computer vision model, giving Squat 3D awareness of where the ball is and where it's going. A four mecanum wheel drivetrain lets it move in any direction without turning, so it can reposition quickly between shots. The onboard processor runs the entire detection and drive pipeline without needing a cloud connection — it works anywhere there's a court.

Our first deployment will be at SquashBusters, a Boston nonprofit whose urban squash model has helped thousands of underserved youth reach college. Squash is also making its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and interest in the sport is growing fast — but access is still locked behind wealth. Squat is built to change that. After SquashBusters, we plan to sell units to clubs and programs so the mission can scale.

Every dollar raised goes directly toward parts, compute hardware, and building the first donated unit for SquashBusters. We build in public, publish our failures as openly as our wins, and are aiming for a live demo at the SquashBusters Derby in fall 2026.

If you believe every player deserves a world-class training partner — not just the ones who can afford it — back us, share this page, and help us put Squat on the court.