VLA Foundations: Course Repository

Vision-Language-Action Foundations for Robotics - CSCI 7000, Spring 2026

Live Site: https://www.vlm-robotics.dev

This repository contains the framework for CSCI 7000: VLA Foundations for Robotics.

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Workflow for Students

Setup

Follow the Scratch-0 assignment to configure your environment.

Branching

All work must be done on a branch named [assignment]-[username].

Example: scratch-1-heckman

git checkout -b scratch-1-johndoe

Implementation

• Code stubs are in src/assignments/
• Documentation and reports belong in content/course/submissions/

Submission

Open a Pull Request to the staging branch. Do not target main.

1. Go to https://github.com/arpg/vla-foundations
2. Click "Pull requests" → "New pull request"
3. Base branch: staging (NOT main)
4. Compare branch: your branch name
5. Title: Assignment X: Your Name
6. Add a description of your work

Review Process

1. Wait for CI checks to pass (GitHub Actions will validate your submission)
2. Wait for instructor review
3. Address any requested changes
4. ONLY the instructor can merge pull requests
5. Once approved, the instructor will merge to staging, then to main

You do NOT have permission to merge your own PRs. All merges are done by the instructor.

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Engineering Standards

Semantic Line Breaks

Use semantic line breaks (one sentence per line) in all MDX files.

Bad:

This is a very long sentence with multiple ideas. It continues on the same line. This makes PR review difficult.

Good:

This is a sentence on its own line.
Each idea gets its own line.
This makes PR review much easier.

Linear Git History

Maintain a linear git history. Use git rebase staging instead of git merge staging.

Example:

# Update your branch with latest staging changes
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/staging

# If conflicts occur, resolve them and continue
git rebase --continue

# Force push your rebased branch
git push --force-with-lease

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Resources

Documentation

• MDX Syntax
• Next.js App Router
• Tailwind CSS
• LaTeX Math Symbols

Papers & Datasets

• RT-1 Paper
• RT-2 Paper
• Open-X Embodiment
• DROID Dataset

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Contact

• Instructor: Christoffer Heckman
• Email: christoffer.heckman@colorado.edu
• Course: CSCI 7000, Spring 2026
• GitHub: https://github.com/arpg/vla-foundations

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License

Copyright © 2026 Christoffer Heckman. All rights reserved.

Course materials are for educational use by enrolled students only.