2473 was founded in 2007 by just 7 students with the desire to learn how to build a robot. Today, the team has grown to over 70 students divided into several sub-teams that work together, constructing a complex robot by the end of each season.

The sub-teams this year include Infinte Recharge, which is responsible for designing the robot; Game Design, which is in charge of designing a FRC styled game; Innovation Challenge, which develops a solution to a real-world problem; and Awards, which writes essays for the competition season.

Dusty XIII - Recharge at Home

This year’s challenge was a pandemic-modified version of the previous year’s challenge. The robot partook in various timed trials that demonstrated its ability to shoot power cells and drive efficiently.

The robot is also driver-operated using a camera on the robot. The robot can intake power cells from the field using an intake mechanism, and shoot the power cells using a 2-axle shooter mechanism. Near the end of the game, the robot can climb the rendezvous point using a scissor lift with a hook and winch for its climber mechanism. During off-season, additions – a slot-plate to prevent winch jamming and ramp to smoothly feed power cells into the shooter – have been implemented and upgrades – a faster spring release climber, more flexible turret shooter, and wider mecanum wheel intake – were implemented.

Only able to meet online this year, sketches and Computer-Aided Design are critical for hardware sub-teams working on improvements for the different mechanisms. It helps plan spacing on the robot for the changes and precisely communicates ideas to our hardworking mentors who build them and give us feedback. 

The software team cohesively works as a unit to bring this hardware to life. Collaborating using technologies for version control such as GitHub and communication such as Slack, teams can work efficiently. The 2473 software team endeavors in areas such as networking, usage of the WPI library, implementing sensors, and other special projects to make the most out of the fine product produced by the hardware team.

Assisting with this process are our amazing mentors. With 7 mentors total for both the hardware and software sub-teams, they provide their time, knowledge, and expertise to guide students in the right direction. Students can thus remain productive while also learning immensely under selfless mentors, who donate several hours every week to working with us.

Game Design

The Game Design challenge is a new aspect incorporated by FIRST as an opportunity for teams to express their creativity and design their own FRC Competition Game. After designing a game, teams will compete against others for a chance to pitch their game to the FRC Game Design Team. Teams also have the option to include a special Game Design Challenge Element which allows them to compete for the Concept Award. Our team came up with a theme for our submission to be centered on, and developed this further by brainstorming elements and rules by which the game can be played. We created an image of what the field should look like and what the placement of each field element would be to establish an awareness of space and activity. Our primary goal was to have rival alliances interact and move across the field as much as possible to make the game fun and entertaining for the audience to observe. Along the way, we voted on all decisions to make sure we could reach agreements as a team. 

Innovation Challenge

The FIRST Innovation Challenge is another new aspect incorporated into this year’s challenges as a way to allow students to use their creativity, engineering abilities, and business skills to engineer a solution to help people get active. This year, we centered our focus on helping elementary and middle school students get active by designing a fitness bracelet, called the “Fitness Flash”. The Fitness Flash uses customizable characters and an exercise tracking system to encourage students to get active. For the Fitness Flash, our team was chosen as a Qualcomm Semi-Finalist.

Game Design Team preparing for the competition for the 2020-2021 season

Innovation Challenge Team’s final product

Team 2473’s robot at the Silicon Valley Regionals for the 2018-2019 season