Abstract: A computing and robotics learning platform includes a component ecosystem with gears, pucks, side plates and connectors configured to support the integration of globally available materials, such as rubber bands, pencils and popsicle sticks is described herein. Certain embodiments according to this disclosure include a platform device comprising a multi-layer processing structure capable of implementing student programs written in beginner or high-level programming languages without latency or performance degradation from processing tasks associated with low-level system functions, such as motor encoding.