A virtual engineering workshop—not a physical toy kit
BTG Builder is the digital construction and programmable robotics application under development for Boundary Tech Generation. Learners choose individual approved Building Truss Grid components, assemble and inspect their connections, work through engineering challenges, and ultimately install and control technology inside their builds.
The project targets an iPhone/iPad experience developed in Unity, together with a Windows workshop edition. Blender supplies authored 3D component geometry. Unreal is used for advanced environment and visualization work where qualified. These are engineering responsibilities, not separate products the children must learn to operate.
The Building Truss Grid component system
The digital parts library uses square-profile beams with round holes on their faces and cylindrical male pegs at their ends. Connectors present matching round female openings; multi-direction junctions, elbows and correctly modelled bends allow different assembly directions. Beam lengths include 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10-hole increments. Mechanical and motion components expand the library for advanced projects.
Parts are not interchangeable just because they look close. The engineering goal is to validate connection positions, rotations, compatible peg/socket faces, occupancy and collisions, with an inventory traceable to source component geometry. Free Build uses the same approved catalogue instead of invented invisible supports.
From separate components to an operating system
The full educational design treats structural completion and technological completion as separate milestones. A correctly assembled crane should only unlock simulated movement after its mechanisms and controls pass the appropriate digital tests. A bridge can gain traffic signals, sensors or a qualified opening mechanism; buildings can gain lighting, doors or automated systems; and later city projects can include working elevators, signals and power systems.
Important: this describes the required end-to-end experience. The commission–operate–persist chain is still being engineered, and has not been accepted as a finished app feature.
Kits, Free Build, digital instructions and robotics
Kit Workshop
Choose a kit, view finite parts and assembly stages, place individual 3D pieces, inspect joints, and follow progress toward a valid construction.
Free Build
Explore original ideas using the same beams, junctions and connection rules without being limited to a prescribed kit.
Technology Lab
Planned digital sensor, actuator, wiring and control-logic installation connected to actual compatible components.
Remote Control & Programming
Planned touch controls, constrained movement commands, simulated limits and emergency-stop behaviours tied to qualified moving assemblies.
The product design includes kit catalogues, inventory, manual assembly, three-dimensional inspection, assembly instructions, progress checkpoints, export and interactive world access. Functionality differs by kit and build revision; the full experience should not be mistaken for an already released iOS product.
BTG World — Boundary Country construction
The active Unity project contains a Grand Forks-area terrain workflow with a roughly 7 km navigable construction world, remote build-area selection and a Return to Crane camera feature. Construction spaces are measured grid areas chosen to suit the machine or kit rather than one oversized universal site.
| Crane class | Construction-area presets (metres) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| C6 | 1×1, 2×2, 4×4, 4×8, 6×6, 8×8 | Implemented grid presets; full machine not qualified |
| C25 | 8×16, 12×12, 12×24, 24×24 | Grid design target |
| C60 | 24×48, 48×48 | Grid design target |
| C120 | 48×96, 96×96 | Grid design target |
Choosing a distant site does not mean a small crane can carry materials there. Future operating workflows must enforce each completed machine's simulated movement and placement limits. Environment, roads, water and terrain fidelity remain part of the continuing visual and engineering acceptance programme.
Start with a crane. Expand into a living digital world.
C6 Tower Crane
The priority build: full lattice, slewing ring, trolley, hoist, hook, controls and source-verified assembly. A limited 246-piece frame pilot exists; the full crane remains under integration.
Bridge & Drawbridge
Build trusses and spans; later integrate construction by crane, bridge sensing, traffic control and only physically modelled moving spans.
Houses & Workshops
Modular digital buildings with structural validation; future lighting, door, occupancy and other programmable technology challenges.
City Systems
Traffic and street lighting, utilities, emergency-service buildings and skyscrapers with properly engineered moving and automated components.
The catalogue is a roadmap across different readiness states. A kit card or illustration is not proof of a completed finite inventory, finished interactive instructions, or functioning machines.
One engineering language. Age-appropriate challenges.
| Learning level | Builder activity | What the learner demonstrates |
|---|---|---|
| Little Creators · 6–8 | Recognize parts, move the 3D camera, follow large visual steps, assemble a simple structure with guided snapping | Explain what connects and test one action |
| Young Builders · 9–11 | Complete a small finite kit, explore Free Build, compare joints, test and fix connection mistakes | A connected build, inventory and test result |
| Junior Developers · 12–14 | Construct mechanisms, plan controls, connect simulated sensor/actuator concepts and debug a mission | A mechanically explained system and test record |
| Youth Innovators · 15–17 | Design a project, validate assembly, author constrained control logic, inspect faults and document a digital commissioning test | A reviewable engineering project with evidence |
These are proposed BTG Builder activities that extend the original workshop blueprint; they do not replace the programme's existing game, app, electronics and robotics pathways. Accessibility, individual pace, facilitator supervision and private family demonstrations remain essential.
What is working, and what still needs engineering
The Unity engineering handoff records Play Mode verification of scalable grid navigation and Return to Crane, plus 23/23 source-level tests of the new world-to-kit selection handoff. The revised kit handoff itself has not completed end-to-end Play Mode or native iOS acceptance.
Current development includes a finite 246-part crane frame pilot, project asset inventory, kit interface work, source geometry, Free Build and world integration. The full C6 source assembly and mechanical connections, slew/trolley/hoist/hook operation, pick/release, technology installation, functional commissioning, persistent multi-kit world and signed iOS release remain outstanding gates. Larger crane classes remain design targets rather than functioning construction machines.
BTG Builder is digital educational engineering software, not a real load-bearing construction product. Real-world crane certificates are not its software release criteria; correct virtual connections, functioning constraints, safe simulated controls, source traceability and regression-tested gameplay are.
Boundary Tech Generation community commitment
BTG's goal is to offer free, supervised youth technology learning in Boundary Country. Programme dates, site, volunteer approval, insurance and registrations are not yet confirmed. No child profile, project or personal data is an automatic input to BTG Bridge, the Bit Trade Global Exchange or other commercial systems.
Read the community programme → · Parents and guardians → · Facilitator guide → · Contact BTG →