Industry

Toyota's Largest Plant Hosted Kentucky's Robotics Kickoff in Its 40th Year

Kentucky's FIRST teams got their first look at this season's CANOPY game inside Toyota's largest plant, which also funds team grants and mentors in its 40th year.

James Whitfield Oct 7, 2026, 4:43 AM ET · 2 min read

Student-built robots on a FIRST Tech Challenge field during a match — Student-built robots line up on last season's DECODE field at a Kentucky FIRST event; the new CANOPY game replaces it this season. Photo: Toyota Kentucky

Toyota's largest factory in the world swapped Camrys for robot sketches for a day. On Sept. 12, Toyota Kentucky in Georgetown hosted the season kickoff for Kentucky FIRST Robotics, where student teams from across the state saw this season's competition game, CANOPY, for the first time.

Students and mentors watch the CANOPY game reveal at Toyota Kentucky — Teams watched the livestreamed CANOPY reveal before breaking out to plan their robots with Toyota employees. Photo: Toyota Kentucky

FIRST scraps its game every year, so the reveal resets every team's design work. After the livestreamed unveiling, students, coaches, and mentors split into groups with Toyota employees to work through strategy and rough out early robot concepts, then walked a replica field to size up the obstacles. Automakers have been leaning into this kind of hands-on outreach; last month, GM turned its WEC home race into a classroom for Texas high schoolers.

Teams inspect a replica CANOPY competition field inside Toyota Kentucky — A full-size replica field let teams study the new game's obstacles before committing to a robot design. Photo: Toyota Kentucky

Hosting is only the visible part. Toyota also funds grants for new and returning teams to cover participation costs, and it supplies employees as mentors. One recipient is Team #11275, the Defenders, from Bryan Station High School in Lexington. The company hasn't said how much the grant program pays out in total.

Bryan Station High School robotics team members at their Toyota-sponsored pit — Team #11275, the Defenders from Bryan Station High School in Lexington, is among the squads backed by a Toyota Kentucky grant. Photo: Toyota Kentucky

"Toyota is generous not only with financial support, but also by opening its facilities and connecting students with mentors who share their experience and expertise," said Kelli Gowan, executive director of KY FIRST Robotics.

The kickoff lands in a milestone year for the plant. At its 40th-anniversary ceremony in March, Toyota committed $800 million to Georgetown to build a second electric vehicle and add Camry and RAV4 hybrid capacity. It also pledged $4.4 million for career development and STEM education in local schools. The added RAV4 output arrives as buyers still face delays, as detailed in our look at RAV4 wait times and alternatives.

Georgetown employs about 9,800 people and built more than 444,000 vehicles and 787,000 engines in 2025, according to figures Toyota provided. An operation that size needs a steady supply of engineers and technicians, and a high school robotics team is one of the earliest points where a manufacturer can reach them.

Toyota Kentucky says its charitable giving has passed $166 million since 1986. Teams now have the school year to build and test their CANOPY robots at local and regional events, with the strongest advancing to national and international championships.