The Cumberland Plateau is part of the Appalachian Mountains and touches four states with most of its area in Eastern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and Northern Alabama. The Plateau region hosts over 100 automotive companies, universities, colleges and community colleges who are closely tied to AI, robotics, rockets, and manufacturing. Here are some imaginary “dream team” ideas:
Toyota manufactures engines in Huntsville, Alabama
Mercedes to invest $4 billion in it’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant
With nearly 11,000 full-time workers across Middle Tennessee, Nissan is a cornerstone of the state’s manufacturing economy. Nissan Americas headquarters is in Franklin with plants in Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee. The Nissan Frontier is built in nearby Canton, Mississippi with the engine built in Decherd.
If we can attract University of Tennessee, ORNL, Nissan, and The Cherokee Nation the results could be amazing.
Hyundai recently purchased Boston Dynamics. A large part of the 2026 Boston Dynamics robot production is in their Georgia Research facility. Berry College with their 22,000 acre campus and AI program could be an ideal partner. The Hyundai Santa Cruz is made in Montgomery Alabama.
The Georgia Tech robot racing team could join with Berry College, testing new technology and improving the environment at the same time.
Now that VW has stopped producing the ID4 in Chattanooga there might be a lot of cheap cars, parts and really knowledgeable people available.
Your robot racing support team. Teach one robot to ride and copy the files to other robots?
Hopefully with help from the Moonshots team! Can you imagine the robot racing teams they could create?
Imagine meeting the 2030 operational goal on Mars with lessons learned during robot racing that started in 2026. Robots driving vehicles here on Earth and beyond is critical to the company’s success.
These imaginary robot racers were made with Google Gemini. What do you have in mind? You can share your dream team with us by email at: robots@fourmars.com
