In November 2017, a team of University of Queensland engineering graduates officially founded Micromelon Robotics in Brisbane, Queensland. United by a shared passion for STEM education and a belief that robotics should be accessible to every student, the founders set out to build an educational platform that would grow with learners from primary school through to senior secondary and beyond.
The founding team drew on their experience in mechatronics, software engineering, and education to begin designing the Micromelon Rover - a compact, sensor-rich robot purpose-built for the classroom. Unlike hobbyist kits that required extensive assembly and troubleshooting, the Rover was envisioned as a turnkey solution that teachers could confidently deploy from day one.
From the outset, Micromelon's mission extended beyond hardware. The team began prototyping a companion code editor that would let younger students program with drag-and-drop blocks before transitioning to Python - bridging the gap between visual and text-based coding in a single environment.
Brisbane's vibrant startup ecosystem provided early support, and the founders quickly connected with educators, accelerators, and mentors who shared their vision. What started as a university project was now a company with a clear purpose: to bring real-world robotics into Australian classrooms at scale.