2025 - ReefScape

*CURRENT SEASON*

Robot Name: Undecided

The goal of the 2025 ReefScape game is to score coral (large sections of PVC pipe) onto the reef (a large structure in the center of each alliance's side of the field). The coral can be scored in various ways, such as placing it on the reef, hanging it on the reef, or stacking it on top of other coral. Also, teams must remove algae (over-sized playground balls) from the reef and place them in the barge (a structure with a net in the center of the field). These algae can be scored either by direct robot scoring into the net, or by placing them in processors that allow human players to score them. At the end of the game, teams must climb onto the barge's hanging cages to earn additional points.

This year, our team will compete at the Heartland Regional (March 19–22) and the Iowa Regional (March 26–29). We aim to perform well enough to earn a spot at the FIRST Robotics World Championship (April 16–19) and receive an invitation to the Mo-Kan State Championship (date TBD).

2024 - Crescendo

Robot Name: Shredder (VIEW IN 3D)

The goal of the 2024 Crescendo game is to launch or place foam rings called 'notes' into various apertures around the field. At the end of the game, teams must climb onto a chain while a human player throws striped rings (high notes) to achieve point bonuses.

This year we competed at the Greater Kansas City Regional and the Heartland Regional. We were able to successfully implement a fully functional swerve drive system, which allowed us to move in any direction and rotate freely while doing so. Our swerve drive gave us a definite edge over other teams. Our robot also featured advanced path planning capabilities that allowed some tele-operated game play to be automated, as well as improving our autonomous capabilities. The robot itself consisted of a conveyor belt system that could intake the rings, and a launching mechanism that could shoot the rings into the goals. The launching mechanism was rotatable, which allowed us to shoot the rings into the goals at various angles, greatly increasing our versatility. Our climbing ability was functional, but minimal, as our main strategy for the season was to focus on scoring points with the notes.

2023 - CHARGED UP

Robot Name: Drew (VIEW IN 3D)

The goal of the 2023 Charged Up game is to score cubes and cones into their respective grids to support their 'community', the community is an alliance's home base, meaning no bot from another alliance can enter their community. The robots goal is to then dock on charge stations in their community to earn points for their alliance by balancing the station.

We competed at the Arkansas Regional, the Greater Kansas City Regional, and the Heartland Regional. This year was our first usage of the Swerve Drive locomotion method. Although this method is very powerful, we had a lot of issues at the beginning of the season, but we were able to overcome them and end up with a decent season. This robot ended up being our tallest robot. We used pneumatic systems to open and close our claw. Our strategy was to score as many points as possible by scoring cubes and cones into the grids, and working well with other teams in our alliance. During this season we earned the Judges Award because of how professionally our robot looked. We spray painted each part very carefully —to the point where they appeared powder coated— and had wonderful cable management. We also fit the majority of the components in the base of the robot, which not only looked very clean, but also lowered the center of mass of the robot down to make it more stable.

2022 - Rapid React

Robot Name: Shawn (Below Image)

The goal of the 2022 Rapid React game is to score the cargo balls into the lower and upper sections of the hub, the teams are able to score additional points by climbing the hanger rungs to the highest their robot can achieve. We achieved an outstanding position of 3rd place that year, an incredible position as a rookie team.

Our robot this year was a simple design, but it was very effective. On the front end we had a roller with eyelashes that spun around and enabled us to quickly pick up the ball. It would bring it up the tower and into the flywheel launcher by using a pulley-belt system. Our flywheel system enabled us to shoot the ball into the goal with a high degree of accuracy. We also had the capability to shoot at different heights by adjusting the velocity of the flywheel. We also had an arm that could extend and retract to allow us to climb the hanger rungs. These robot features allowed us to score a lot of points and win many matches.