2014-2015: Recycle Rush
Recycle Rush, the 2015 game, put quite a spin on the usual method of competition. Teams had to build up stacks of recycling totes and bins as high as possible, and could throw in litter (pool noodles) to gain extra points. But unlike past games, opposing alliances were not allowed to make contact and were confined to separate halves of the field. We built a robot that specialized in making tall stacks of up to six totes, plus a bin containing litter, the highest-scoring stack possible in the game. Our robot was reliable, rapidly made tall stacks, and had a sophisticated swerve drive that made maneuvering the field much easier. See our robot reveal video:
At the New York City Regional, we dominated the preliminaries and entered the quarterfinals as the first place team, winning the Innovation in Control Award for our unique swerve drive. Although we did not advance past semifinals in New York, we tried again at the Greater DC Regional. This time, we were awarded the Quality Award, and our alliance won the regional! Our team attended the World Championships in St. Louis and was eventually selected to be on an alliance for the quarterfinals. Overall, we had a very successful, memorable, and fun year! Our team bonded and learned a lot from the experience, and we hope that we can replicate our success in years to come. See some of the DC Regional highlights below: