First Robotics Competition: Iowa City Robotics

My Role & Involvement

My first time getting involved with FIRST Robotics was in elementary school when I joined a FIRST Lego League (FLL) team. My positive experiences at the time led me to continue pursuing robotics in high school. I joined Iowa City Robotics, also known as FRC 167, as a freshman. Initially I was part of the build team that assembled the game field and worked on the robot design for competitions. I was also one of the drivers that operated the robot at competitions.

During final year as part of FRC 167, I was designated as team and build captain, and invested many hours into the season. I was responsible not only for finding sponsors and leading the robot design and build, but also recruiting and training underclassmen that would take on the future of the team. In 2018, we had one of our most competitive seasons ever, and competed at the FIRST World Championships in Detroit, MI.

After graduation, I briefly continued to mentor the team, but eventually knew I wanted to move on and pursue more opportunities on my own in college. Being a part of this team helped me build long-lasting relationships with my peers and mentors, and solidified my passion for engineering.

2016 Season: FIRST Stronghold

  • A robot capable of traversing over rough terrain with the capability of scoring in high and low goals.

  • Tank drive, auxillary arm, ball intake via two belts, ball shooting via two wheels, onboard camera.

2017 Season: FIRST Steamworks

  • A robot capable of firing fuel balls, deploying gears, and climbing the rope during endgame.

  • Mecanum drive, foam-roller intake, launcher, gear deployer, climbing winch.

2018 Season: FIRST Power Up

  • A robot capable of delivering cubes to high & low scales, and elevating two robots on carbon-framed platforms.

  • Mecanum drive, LIDAR-powered feedback drive, telescopic lift mechanism, robot-lifting ramp, onboard camera.

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About FIRST Robotics Competion

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is one of three competing modes of FIRST Robotics, in which teams of high-school students work on theme-based robot design. Each year a new set of game rules are released, and teams have a six-week building phase to design a 120-pound robot for regional competitions. Winners from these regionals quality to compete in the FIRST World Championships at the end of each season.

A big part of FIRST Robotics is not just the building and competing, but also the outreach involved. It offers an opportunity to promote STEM in local communities, and a chance to network with mentors and engineers that volunteer with these teams and events.

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