They're only in middle school, but two Fox Chapel brothers have been rock stars in the robotics world for several years.

Arvind Seshan, 12, and Sanjay Seshan, 14, reached a new level of fame last month at the World Robot Olympiad finals in Delhi, India, where they signed autographs and posed for selfies with hundreds of fans.

Internationally known as The Seshan Brothers, Arvind and Sanjay provide programming lessons for Lego Mindstorms robots to more than 100,000 users in 160 countries through their website, EV3Lessons.com. 

Lego Mindstorms are kits that contain hardware and software to build robots that can be programmed. 

At the Olympiad, the boys demonstrated a Lego printer they invented, called PIX3L PLOTT3R, and served with four adults as expert advisers.

"We were invited to Delhi to inspire and educate others," said Arvind, noting that their young age was particularly inspirational to the hundreds of students who attended the event. The brothers were inspired themselves to meet children from war-torn countries, including Syria and Iran, who were competing in the Olympiad. "I was fascinated to see that even though war is going on, kids who live in the Middle East still have an interest in robotics, and they're very talented at it," Sanjay said.

The boys were also thrilled to see kids from all over the world coming together for a common interest. "There were about 450 teams coming from 50 different countries, and it was so cool to see them all in Delhi because of Mindstorms robotics," Arvind said.

In addition to being the only children who were invited as experts, Arvind and Sanjay were also the only Americans. The fact that their parents were born in India made the event extra special for the Seshan family. "We really bonded with the kids from Delhi," Arvind said. "They kept asking us where we're from, thinking we're Indian, so we taught a lot of people where Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is."

Their mother, Asha Seshan, said she was surprised by how many students, teachers and members of the public attended the event. "Everyone was very inquisitive. They were all different ages and very keen on learning about Mindstorm and robotics. The place was packed with students three rows deep, but they were unbelievably, noticeably well-behaved," she said. Mrs. Seshan helps promote Mindstorms and robotics education globally and serves as a judge at youth robotics competitions.

"Spending time with the other [robotics] experts was great," said Sanjay, adding that they were able to exchange ideas and share robot-building plans."The main goal of bringing the experts [to the event] was to inspire everyone there. Since we were the only kids who were there as experts, we’re great role models because the other kids could see us and realize that they can do it, too."

Mrs. Seshan said the experts spent a morning by the pool, but no one was swimming. "They were building robots together." She noted that even though they were adults, the other experts treated her sons as equals. "Arvind wrote some code on the bus, and they were all listening to him. They didn't care about age, just quality and skill."

Throughout their experience as robotics experts, the boys have gone out of their way to share ideas, plans and educate others about robotics as well as help talented kids take their skills to the next level. "These two took something that started as a little kids' competition and went beyond that to inspiring and helping others. It's no longer about winning an event," said Mrs. Seshan, adding that the boys' website has been busier than usual since their trip to India. "It's awesome to see their printer get built by other people from around the world, and they've had numerous requests every day."

Both boys attend Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District.

Arvind recently began teaching his own robotics class at school.

"I've learned that it's important to share what we know and inspire others, and when they see what we can do, then they'll do great things also," he said.

Jill Cueni-Cohen, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.

First Published: December 30, 2016, 5:00 a.m.