Charger Robotics: More than Robots
All photos provided by Disha Deepak.
Disha Deepak
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“Competition for the sake not of destroying one another, but for the sake of bettering and improving both competitors as a result of the competition.” ”
Founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to STEM programs for ages 4-18. The program has had a profound impact on thousands of participants from all over the world, including many students from the Hamilton School District involved in Charger Robotics. Charger Robotics includes programs for students of many ages: two FIRST® LEGO® League Explore teams at Lannon and Woodside Elementary, four FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge (FLL) teams (grades 6-8) at Templeton Middle School, six FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) teams at Hamilton High School (grades 8-12), and one FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) team at HHS (grades 9-12).
These teams have achieved a wide variety of successes since Charger Robotics was first founded in 2000—from the first FLL state qualification in 2017, to the two-time Championship-qualifying FLL team (team 31589, the Cyber Turtles), to the countless FTC and FRC achievements over the past two decades. This year, however, we’d like to highlight HHS’ FRC team, team 537, who recently concluded one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history.
FIRST® Dive
Each year, FIRST releases an overarching season theme, dedicated to raising awareness and improving society. This past season, the theme FIRST® Dive was exploring the Earth’s oceans.
“Beneath the ocean’s surface lies our planet’s most complex ecosystems, full of life and potential for exploration and learning, where each inhabitant has a role to play in building a thriving environment. During the 2024-2025 FIRST season, FIRST® DIVE℠ presented by Qualcomm, teams will use their STEM and collaboration skills to explore life beneath the surface of the ocean. Along the way, we’ll uncover the potential in each of us to strengthen our community and innovate for a better world with healthy oceans. “ - FIRST®
The FRC season begins in early January with the season kickoff. Celebrated by students worldwide, teams gather to watch the release of the FRC competition game, “REEFSCAPE,” which marks the beginning of a six-week build season. During these six weeks, students work tirelessly to design, build, test, and iterate upon a robot that meets the strategy requirements for the season game. Hundreds of designs are created, and each robot becomes a testament to the hours of dedication and development each team puts into the season. At the end of the six-week build season, Charger Robotics hosts a “week 0” event, kicking off the six-week competition season with the Sussex Scrimmage. At the scrimmage, teams compete in practice matches, simulating the first day of a regional competition. This year, the 25th Sussex Scrimmage hosted 29 teams from all over Wisconsin, gathering over 28,000 spectators.
“The Sussex Scrimmage gave teams competitive experience to test the capability of their robot and figure out how to make changes.” – Jason Fuhr (build team mentor)
“One thing that elevated the Sussex Scrimmage this year was the field management system that a mentor had started developing early in the season/school year.” – Morgan Swartzendruber (co-advisor)
“After 25 years, the Sussex Scrimmage is a big Week Zero event in Wisconsin, which shows how much of an impact Charger Robotics has on our community. All the 29 teams that attended were now more prepared and ready to succeed because of our invaluable early competition experience. Seeing teams iterate and benefit from the program firsthand was both incredibly encouraging and inspiring. ” – Attreya Attili (build team member)
REEFSCAPE
This year’s FRC game, titled REEFSCAPE, had a variety of challenges for teams to consider.
The game included two different game pieces, with multiple methods for scoring. Robots can score ~12” PVC pipes with a ~4” diameter—game pieces known as “coral”. They can also choose to remove and score “algae” (~16” rubber playground balls) in various areas of the field. Matches begin with a 15-second autonomous period, where the robot relies solely on pre-programmed commands to accomplish a set of tasks. After autonomous, the tele-op period begins, where the robot is controlled by the driver. The tele-op period consists of 2:15 of driver-controlled gameplay, concluding with a 20-second “endgame”, where drivers can choose to continue scoring or attempt to climb cages on the “barge”—an 8’5” tall raised structure spanning the center of the field where rectangular cages hang from.
Neol
Marie Curie once said, “I am among those who think that science has great beauty.” Indeed, the feats of science, technology, engineering, art, and math shown by these robots is truly astonishing. Team 537 created their robot, Neol, based off of the game requirements for this season. Upon the release of the season game animation—a video describing the scoring methods, penalties, rules, and overall details of the game—537’s drive team gathered to pore through the 164 page game manual, devising the best strategy for the robot design. They considered the game rules, robot specifications, match strategy, and overall goals for the season before creating a guideline of requirements for the final robot. These requirements were then turned over to the FRC build teams, who began their hard work of constructing the robot. Neol is characterized by many notable features, one of which is the small chassis construction. The robot is 19.5x19.5”, making Neol the smallest robot at each of the three competitions team 537 attended. Neol’s intake was inspired by another team’s, but was iterated on after testing to best fit the drive team’s requirements. Neol’s strengths lie in its small chassis, heavy weight, quick coral cycle time, and overall efficiency. The robot also includes some fun elements based on the water-related theme from this season, such as a narwhal cutout on the side plates and a rhinestone narwhal on the front.
“Neol has performed highly this season, achieving top coral cycle points as well as ‘deephanging’ in several matches. It got to share the match field with world-class robots, and even won matches at the World Championship. It’s very rewarding to see our robot be successful in a match, and I am proud of our team for all the hard work put in this season to make Neol perform so well.” – Elise Fuhr (build team lead)
“Innovation isn’t a solo act, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented people this season. It was truly an honor knowing that our team is making such an incredible impact on our community.” – Lucas Polczynski (build team lead)
Two Regionals
(from left to right) Raghav Vasant, Derek Zhang, Logan Wambach, Noah Konshak, Rowan Hunt
Each year, Charger Robotics competes in two regional competitions during the six-weeks of competition season. Prior to spring break, team 537 traveled to La Crosse, WI, in order to compete at the Seven Rivers Regional. With their first competition of the season, the team was ready to showcase their hard work, with high hopes and well-planned strategies. Team 537’s drive team (featured below) and Neol took the field for three days of intense competition. They ranked 9th out of 51 teams during the qualification matches, and were selected to compete in the elimination matches as the first pick of the fourth alliance seed. In the elimination matches, the team competed alongside their alliance partners: teams 5826 (Avis Automata), 4207 (PyroBotics), and 8700 (W.I.R.E.D) before being eliminated in match 9 of the semifinals.
“From a drive team perspective, Seven Rivers was super unique as it was the first time that [our] drive team got to work together as a whole. While everyone’s [individual] roles had been practiced individually for the most part, it’s nearly impossible to simulate the stresses of competition at practice. It was neat to see drive team work well together immediately and get us into the playoffs.” – Rowan Hunt (drive team: driver)
“The Seven Rivers Regional was a remarkable experience for the whole team. It was all of drive team’s first time getting to actually see our practice be put to use and it was great to see everyone work together so well as quickly as we did. Later, at the Wisconsin Regional, it was exciting to see all the teams who were interested in hearing about what led us to success, and it was a great feeling to know that we were able to help other teams improve in different aspects.” – Noah Konshak (drive team: navigator)
“Seven Rivers was our most successful experience by far. We learned a lot from the difficulties faced at Worlds and at Wisconsin. However, at Seven Rivers, we learned a lot about succeeding. Wade, Derek, and Paul learned about scouting and reviewing the info needed to make more accurate decisions. Rowan and Noah learned a lot about timing and driving techniques. I personally learned a lot regarding Human Player and the value I brought to the team, as I saw how difficult it was to push coral into our intake, especially for other human players.” – Raghav Vasant (drive team: human player)
While 537’s drive team competed on the field, its Impact presentation team was working tirelessly to support Charger Robotics in the judging rooms. The Impact Award is the most prestigious award in all of FIRST, awarded to the team at each regional who showcases all aspects of FIRST® Robotics—including the robot performance, demonstration of the FIRST Core Values, and community impact. As the FIRST website writes, the Impact Award “honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.” Winning the Impact Award is not just an incredible honor, it’s also an automatic qualifier to attend the FIRST Championship—an international competition hosted in Houston, TX, where the best of each FIRST programs’ teams compete on the world stage.
Shaanvi Konda and Abbie Dong, led by mentor Kristine Gonzalez, presented to a panel of judges about team 537 and Charger Robotics’ dedication to serving the community. In a seven-minute presentation, followed by a five minute Q&A portion, the two described the team’s contributions over the past few years in a creative, engaging presentation. When entering the Seven Rivers Regional, the team’s hopes may have been high, but their achievements were even greater. Team 537 left the Seven Rivers #HoustonBound, with their first blue banner since 2019, adding to their collection of 8 Impact Awards since 2001.
“Being on the Impact team has meant so much to me, as I’m able to directly make meaningful contributions to my own community. Winning the regional Impact Award was amazing; it was a reminder of the team’s hard work and positive impact.” – Shaanvi Konda (Impact presenter)
“When we won, it felt unreal. Especially with it being my first year, I was really proud of myself and our Impact team that only consisted of two members won. Impact has taught me so much. I used to be really bad and unconfident when speaking in public, but doing Impact has made me so much more confident and comfortable when talking to a large crowd. This wouldn’t be possible without mentors, especially Mrs. Gonzalez. She encouraged us to try our best, even if we didn’t think we were capable.” – Abbie Dong (Impact presenter)
“Witnessing team 537 win the Impact Award was absolutely thrilling! While the entire team is responsible for executing Impact events, Shaanvi and Abbie are responsible for organizing the measurable Impact data and presenting it to judges in a meaningful, engaging manner. Shaanvi and Abbie advocated for the Impact team this season and were passionate about continuing to grow STEM-related opportunities in our community. I am incredibly proud of their poise when presenting and answering questions as well as their ability to accept constructive criticism to allow for continued improvement. Our team goal was ‘to succeed together.’ Mission accomplished!” – Kristine Gonzalez (Impact mentor)
(from left to right: Abbie Dong, Kristine Gonzalez, Shaanvi Konda)
At the beginning of April, the team took the field once again, this time at the Wisconsin Regional hosted in West Allis. Neol and the drive team worked hard, but fell short during the alliance selection process. However, team 537 was undeterred by this setback. They worked diligently to scout out other competition teams, craft their future strategy, and test the limits of their robot’s abilities. While the team did not make it to the finals matches, their performance on and off of the field was extraordinary, truly demonstrating the level of dedication and passion each of these team members holds.
#HoustonBound
At the FRC Championship, teams are sorted randomly into eight divisions that play on separate fields, each named after a renowned leader in STEM. Each division competes in the same fashion as an ordinary regional competition, with the finalists of each division competing in the FIRST Championship finals, hosted on the Einstein field. Team 537 was a member of the Daly division, competing against 75 teams from across the world. The competition was intense, but the experience held more than just robots. Charger Robotics members got to meet with teams from all over the world, work side-by-side to solve the same problems, and compete against teams of the highest caliber. They ended the competition ranked 68 out of 75 teams, an incredible accomplishment.
“Worlds was a fantastic experience! After going for FLL a few years ago, getting to Worlds on an FRC team became a big goal of mine. It’s an amazing chance to network with teams from all over the world, many of which I spent this season watching for inspiration for our team. Despite our rank, our team performed quite well; our auto hit consistently and we were able to lay down a competitive number of cycles. I’m very proud of how we managed, as many of the teams at champs attend the event every year and we were able to make an impact.” – Rowan Hunt (drive team: driver)
“Compared to the regional events that we participated in, The FIRST Championship is on an entirely different level. To begin, there are eight full competitions happening at the same time, meaning we could find numerous, diverse examples of solutions to the same problems that our team was facing. We also got to work alongside the top teams in the world. We were able to learn how they operated, and learn new ways on how we can make the best decisions on and off the field.” – Noah Konshak (drive team: navigator)
“Although our team did not place, I was really happy about even getting the chance to go to internationals. The last time team 537 went there was back in 2019, so it’s been quite a while. Plus, being in Houston meant that there was plenty to do and experience, whether it was robotics-related or not. It was intimidating to be on just one of the eight game fields there, especially once I realized how much it took to advance to the Einstein field (kinda like the playoffs). However, the chance to visit other teams was a nice way to cool off, and I even met a team there that gave me a lucky charm. An excellent way to end senior year.” – Derek Zhang (Team Captain, Drive team: alliance coach)
“It was really cool seeing all the teams compete and the sheer number of countries in attendance. Additionally, I learned many new ways to further our team’s outreach by taking inspiration from other teams. I really enjoyed exploring the FLL pits since it’s more like an art showcase rather than a robot workspace.” – Abbie Dong (Impact presenter)
“It was amazing (as well as very humbling) to see how all of these other teams approached this year’s game in different ways and still found as much success as we did. It was awesome to see all of the cool tech at the sponsor booths; we even got to see an F1 car at the HAAS booth!” – Paul Steephen (build team member)
“Volunteering at the FIRST Championship was an awesome experience, and I got to meet so many fabulous people. I was so excited to see the team qualify for champs! The students worked so hard all season and totally deserved this opportunity! – Kathy Betters (build team mentor)
“When asking students about their favorite part, they enjoyed seeing the top teams in the world compete against each other, learning from other teams that are consistently successful each year (and excitement to implement some of those ideas/strategies), seeing how clean teams keep their pits, learning about other ways teams scout during competitions as well as how they utilize their scouting information, watching the FTC competitions at the world championship, playing soccer with other teams at the competition, and being able to push/throw the advisors into the pool as promised if Charger Robotics made it to Champs. Many people stated that Champs was larger than they expected/envisioned.” – Morgan Swartzendruber (co-advisor)
“Charger Robotics had an amazing time at the FIRST World Championship tournament in Houston, TX. We tested, learned, and made many friends amongst the top teams in the world! We had some fun along the way with a 22-hour bus ride to and from, playing soccer in the park, and pushing our advisors in the pool, as promised if Charger Robotics made it to Worlds! We are excited to charge forward at the State Championship, as the 5th ranked team in the state!” – Angela Wambach (business mentor)
FIRST® Age
As the FIRST® Dive season comes to an end, there’s one last event to attend. At the FRC Wisconsin State Championship, held at Sheboygan North High School on June 14th, team 537 will take the field one final time with their 2025 robot, Neol. This will mark the final competition with Neol, as well as the end of FIRST® Dive. Then, the teams will face the beginning of the new FIRST season—FIRST® Age. We wish all of Charger Robotics, including the FLL Explore, FLL, FTC, and FRC teams good luck as they embark on their next journey.
Of course, an article about Charger Robotics would be remiss if it didn’t mention all of the foundations of the organization. These students have devoted countless hours, days, and for some, even years of their life to FIRST programs. However, none of their success would be possible if not for the mentors supporting the team. The mentors dedicate just as much time as the students themselves, working relentlessly to push each and every student to reach their fullest potential. The mentors are supportive, enthusiastic, and vital to the success of the program as a whole; they encourage students, leading by example as they follow the FIRST® Core Values—Discovery, Innovation, Inclusion, Impact, Teamwork, and Fun. Additionally, Charger Robotics is funded through donations from our sponsors—local businesses who dedicate funding and resources in order to help these students succeed. The team thanks their sponsors profusely for making this season possible.
“This season is one to be remembered. I’m incredibly proud of the work that we have all put in—the hours of CAD (Davi, I promise you’ll get rest someday), all the practices spent tuning up the robot, and late nights spent on preparations for the competitions. Team 537 owes it to not only the dedicated students, but also the supporting parents, mentors, and sponsors for giving us the opportunity to get this far. We’ve performed well, won the Impact Award, and advanced to the World Championships. This is really a lot to accomplish in a year, and I hope everyone realizes that and is able to look back to see how it all paid off. Let those memories stay strong and true!” – Derek Zhang (Team Captain, drive team: alliance coach)
Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST, says, “FIRST is More Than Robots®. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect—of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.” Charger Robotics’ success this season can serve as an inspiration for all of us; they’ve proven that through dedication, hard work, and perseverance, we can soar beyond the expectations set before us. While team 537’s success on the field has been undeniable, these students have gone above and beyond to prove the FIRST ideal—through their community impact, passion for STEM, and unending dedication, they’ve shown that FIRST truly is More than Robots®.
