Physical AI Hack World Tour — SF

Date & Time

May 9, 2026, 9 a.m. - May 10, 2026, noon

Cost

$0

Location

2 Marina Blvd B300

San Francisco, CA, 94123


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Description

A Global Build Series for Physical AI

​The Physical AI Hack World Tour is a series of hands-on robotic hackathons across cities — built around the MakerMods Robotics open-source ecosystem - 

​Each stop brings together builders working on real systems — combining real robots, open frameworks, and real-world data.

​At the center is MakerMods’ open-source stack: hardware you can inspect, modify, train on, and take home — powered by XLeRobot kits, Hugging Face LeRobot, and modular components.

​The goal is simple: make it easier for anyone to start building physical AI.

​Schedule

​Hackers: Please come at 9AM on Saturday

Saturday

  • 9AM - Doors open and networking

  • 10AM - Sponsor keynotes

  • 10:30AM - Kickoff ceremony

  • 11AM - Hackathon

  • 10:30PM - Doors closed

Sunday

  • 9AM - Doors open

  • 4PM - Submissions closed

  • 4PM-6PM - Demos and judging

  • 8PM - Doors closed

First stop: San Francisco

​May 9–10 · Founders Inc, San Francisco

​We’re kicking off the tour in SF, where a high density of developers, founders, and researchers are already pushing AI into the physical world.

​300 people.

​30 robots

​48 hours.

​One goal:

build something that actually works in the real world.

Powered by

Tasks

​We’re choosing tasks that reflect where robots will actually be used.

🍞 Toasting bread
A simple household task — but full of continuous control, timing, and uncertainty.
Home environments are one of the closest real deployment scenarios for robots.


📸 Scanning a QR code
A common retail workflow — like checking out customers in stores.
This tests perception, alignment, and interaction in structured environments.


🍽️ Setting a table
A small task, but a hard one.
Precise insertion, depth estimation, and fine motor control — where most systems break.

​What you'll build with

  • ​​XLeRobot — affordable dual-arm robot kits for AI training

  • ​​ModBlocks — modular USB-C robotics components

  • ​​LeRobot (Hugging Face) — open-source framework for robot learning

  • ​​MakerMods App — teleoperation and VLA debugging

  • ​​OpenClaw — agent skills for direct hardware control

  • Kite ML — train autonomous robots faster

​​All hardware provided on-site. Bring your laptop and ideas.

​Hosted by

MakerMods RoboticsWorld Intelligence, and Founders.inc

Sponsors

​​Sponsored by NVIDIAHugging FaceQualia and Tnkr.ai and …TBA