Our Team

Business and Marketing team-

The business team is arguably one of the most important teams. Without the business team organizing the fundraising and writing the grants, we wouldn’t have the funds needed to keep the team running. If you are interested in accounting, business, social media, graphic design, or photography this team is perfect for you.  There are several jobs that business team members are tasked with, often split up into 2 groups, but coming together to help fill any gaps that are needed throughout the year. 

  • Business members are the ones who are tasked with managing the team’s budget and financial goals. Securing funding is crucial to help us cover the team expenses, from parts for the robot to competition fees, allowing the team to continue to function and compete. This is done in a few ways:
    • Fundraisers- You will work to find and organize fundraisers. Once a fundraiser is decided, you will design the flyers to advertise it, keep track of sales, and help organize and distribute any products  after sales. 
    • Grants- Search to find grants we qualify for and apply for them. Once applied for, tracking the grants that have been applied for and whether we have been approved.
    • Sponsorships- Identifying and approaching potential sponsors, developing sponsorship proposals and keeping track of the sponsors and money received. 
  • The Marketing Team are the ones who are tasked with promoting our team. This is done through creating promotional materials, running our social media accounts, creating content for our website, photographing the team during meetings and events, writing and sending newsletters. 

There are also other very important roles that the Business and marketing team as a whole take on. Such as designing the yearly shirts, creating button designs, graphics for the websites and flyers. And most importantly outreach to the community through planning and organizing community service events, managing outreach activities, finding and setting up events such as parades and vendor events. 

Build Team-

The build team is in charge of creating the final physical product. This is done by using applied mechanical engineering and using electronics and wiring so it can run code. If your interest includes power tools, wiring electrical, and real life applications of engineering then you should consider the build team. There are a lot of things that always need to get done, we are very hands on, and if you don’t know anything we’ll teach you!

  • Mechanical engineering is applied when building the various projects we build throughout the year and that is especially important when prototyping as we need to see how the theoretical design will function in real life with friction and gravity.
  • Wiring is very important as the robots would not function without it. We wire both power and communication throughout the robot, having to trim and add connectors to wires, run them in an understandable way while taking into account how the robot would move, and control them by setting them in a fixed place. 
  • Organizing is so crucial for speedy assemblies and when not properly taken care of our closet becomes a mess. We are also usually in charge of the cleanliness and organization of the closet because if we don’t know what’s happening in there we won’t get anything done
  • Tool use will be properly trained on every power tool and woodshop tool we have. Common tools include drills, table saw, bandsaw, dremel, and basic tools like wrenches and screw drivers.

Code Team-

The code team is in charge of creating, uploading, and testing the code/software needed for the robot to function. This includes setting up the programs needed to use the robot (including uploading our code onto the robot and other hardware checks), writing the various commands & subsystems needed to tell each hardware component what to do, and creating tele-op (human-controlled) actions which happen after some human input (and more!). We also plan to create autos (automatic driving of the robot in the first 15s of the game) and use vision (cameras on the robot which can track tags on the field) to further our abilities on the field this year.

In order to work on some of these really cool things, you will need to learn some Java, the programming language we use. However, we will help you learn Java to the extent that you need to code the bot, and lots can still be learned without any Java experience! If you do have coding experience already, fantastic; for those that don’t, you will be taught everything you need to know.

  • Goals for this year
    • Pre-Season: Train our team up to the extent that they understand the Zero-to-Robot & Programming Basics documentation, and all the necessary Java needed to program the robot.
    • Have subteams learn how to work vision and autos.
    • Season: Code a working robot, with the entire code team involved (at least in part) in its software development
    • Add consistently working vision to the robot that we can use to gather field data for more accurate movements
    • Create working autos that function on the field

CAD Team-

Computer Aided Design (CAD), we do strategic analysis to find the best robot archetype. Then we plan out a design for the robot. After that we make a high detail CAD model of the robot that includes everything from the boxtube to the individual rivets. 

Pre Season

  • CAD and design training!!!!
    • Required before we can do anything else
  • Projects
    • Demo robot
    • Robot upgrades
    • Individual Subsystems

Build Season

  • Week 1-2
    • Block CAD only (ideal finish is early to mid week 2)
  • Week 3-4
    • 95-99% of functional CAD is done
  • Week 5-comp
    • Subsystem redesign
  • Week 3-4 is when you will put the most hours in

What is expected of you

  • Complete all offseason training
  • Work on robot CAD at home
    • Around 4-6 hours during the beginning of the season
  • To learn about designing for manufacturing and coding
    • We will have training for this

Drive Team-

The Drive Team is primarily about driving the robot at competition, but it also has aspects of helping in both the design and build process in order to make sure the driver is understanding how to use the bot, and if the bot will work for the driver’s skill. The drive team also coordinates scouting to ensure important information is collected from other teams for strategizing.

Drive Team has lots of training with driving the bot when in and off season, along with having to learn the rules of the game and strategize with your fellow team members and other drive teams when competition rolls around.

Not every member of the drive team needs to do driving, there are also roles in other areas.

  • The coach is the person who is scanning the field for game pieces or opposing robots, telling the primary and secondary driver about what they see. 
  • The primary driver is the one actually controlling the robot, the one that makes the robot move around the field, making sure to pay attention to both the field itself and what the coach is saying.
  • The secondary driver is the one that more often than not will control the moving elements of the robot itself, things that allow the bot to actually participate in the game itself.
  • The human player is a person who will be standing near the field doing random tasks that correlate to the game, usually involving a game piece or a way to interact with the field in some way. 

The drive team as a whole cannot operate without every member of the team doing their part, if even one of the members is uncoordinated or unwilling to do the job, then the drive team won’t be at its best during the match.

Inventory and Asset Management Team-

The Inventory and Asset Management team is responsible for maintaining a comprehensive and organized catalog of all team resources, including parts, raw materials, tools, and electronics. Our mission is to support the technical and build teams by ensuring they have the right supplies at the right time, minimizing waste, and preventing delays caused by missing components. We utilize efficient tracking systems to manage stock and provide transparency to the entire team. 

Inventory tracking: Utilize a digital and/or physical system (e.g., spreadsheet, database, kanban board) to track all parts and materials. This includes recording items purchased from suppliers like AndyMark and REV Robotics, as well as components from the Kit of Parts.

Parts management:

  • Organize and label all parts in the workshop and pit, ensuring that components are easy to find and access.
  • Replenish frequently used items, such as nuts, bolts, washers, and electrical connectors, to prevent shortages during the critical build season.

Tool organization:

  • Maintain a clean and orderly tool area in the shop and at competition, with clear labeling and a “check-in/check-out” system for specialized equipment.
  • Perform regular checks to ensure all tools are present and in working order.

Supply chain and purchasing:

  • Work with sub-team leads to forecast material needs and place timely orders to avoid delays.
  • Track purchases and manage the inventory budget in collaboration with the Business sub-team.

Competition support:

  • Create a well-organized and clearly labeled system for packing the robot cart and pit materials for competition.
  • Manage spare parts and tools during events to ensure the drive team and mechanical members can quickly perform repairs and maintenance.

Skills developed

Members of the inventory team gain valuable skills in:

  • Project management and organization
  • Attention to detail
  • Database and spreadsheet management
  • Process and workflow optimization
  • Communication and collaboration with other sub-teams

Safety Team-

  • Safety program mission and philosophy
    • Mission statement: To foster a culture of safety for all team members and mentors in the workshop, at events, and in their daily lives, while following and promoting the principles of Gracious Professionalism®.
    • Philosophy: Safety is a priority over speed. All members are responsible for creating a safe environment and looking out for one another. 
  • Safety Team Leadership
    • Leads the team’s safety initiatives, including managing the safety manual and binder.
    • Conducts and/or coordinates regular safety meetings and training sessions.
    • Serves as the main point of contact for safety advisors at competitions.
    • Oversees the “pit crew” to ensure the workspace and tools are maintained and organized at all times.
    • Maintains and stocks the team’s first-aid kit and personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • Safety Mentors:
    • Sets a positive example for all students and practices safe behavior consistently.
    • Provides guidance and encouragement to the safety team and the entire team.
    • Helps oversee safety during robot fabrication, especially when students operate hazardous machinery.