FIRST Steamworks is the game for the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition. The game is played by two alliances of three teams each. Their robots compete on a field by scoring wiffleballs which represent fuel into a simulated boiler which transfers the generated steam into an airship in the middle of the field. Each alliance has one airship, which they pressurize with steam from the boiler and load with plastic gears from the field. At the end of the match, robots can hang on team-supplied ropes attached to the airship for additional points. 

SQUISH - The Robot

Competition History

San Francisco Regional March 16-19, 2017
Capital City Classic 2017   —    Playoffs
Madtown Throwdown  2017   —   Top Gear Bot   —  Playoffs

2017 Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen

The team displayed creativity through the costumes and Steampunk themed items the members wore.

San Francisco Regional Dean's List Award

Awarded to Roman Dimov for his outstanding achievement and commitment to the team.

Robot Abilities

• 6 wheel drive with 6 in. wheels to rapidly traverse the vast field

• 14 ft/s top speed, single speed gearbox

• Wide floor gear intake used to pick up the Gear game pieces and hang them onto the Airship.

• Vision tracking used to automatically place gears on all three pegs consistently in autonomous

• Fast Rope-climber allows robot to climb a 4 ft. long rope in under two seconds

FIRST Stronghold was the 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition game. The game includes two alliances of three teams each, and involves breaching the opponents’ defenses, known as outer works, and capturing their tower by first firing “boulders” (small foam balls) at it and then surrounding or scaling the tower using rungs. 

PUFF - The Robot

Competition History

       Silicon Valley Regional April 7-9, 2016

2016 Creativity Award

The innovative scaling arm mechanism won the 2016 creativity award at the 2016 FRC Silicon Valley Regional.

Robot Abilities

• 6 wheel drive with 8 in. wheels crosses all obstacles with ease

• Intake allows the robot to grab balls from the courtyard, move them to the tower, and shoot them into low goals

• Multi-use long-reach arm allows robot to manipulate and breach all the defensive structures without trouble.

• Retractable arm launches using a passive actuation system, allowing the robot to climb a 7 ft. high tower.

Recycle Rush was the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition game.

BONAPARTE - The Robot

Bonaparte was our first robot. Our inspiration initially came from a forklift. Because of our limited budget and our adept abilities with woodworking, the robot began construction almost entirely of reclaimed wood. However, challenges related to the robot's durability and aesthetic qualities became a problem. As a result we decided to transition to aluminum. 
          Midway through the process of converting the wooden frame of the robot to an aluminum one, we noticed that the robot resembled a guillotine. Because of this we decided to keep it the way it was, and named it Bonaparte.