Local Octobots Robotics Team, based at Dos Pueblos High School, took home the Quality Award for its robot’s “robustness in concept and fabrication” at the FIRST Robotics Competition District Qualifying Event, March 27-29 in Glendale, California.
The Quality Award recognizes the team members for their ability to describe how their design ensures robustness throughout the competition, and demonstrate the quality of that design on the field such that the robot can withstand the rigors of competition, contributing to the team’s success, according to the FIRST Robotics Competition.
The quality of the robot contributed to the team’s success in Glendale, where in addition to being recognized with the Quality Award, the Octobots was selected as a first round pick and made it to the fourth round of the semifinals.
This was the second of two district competitions for Octobots Robotics this season; the team competed in Port Hueneme in early March, also making it to the semifinals.
In a post-game message to the team, volunteer lead mentor Michael Ramsey said, “What you have done this weekend is no small thing. You did not just show up to a district event – you arrived.
“You built a machine from nothing but ideas, late nights, and sheer determination, and then you drove it straight into the semifinals. Every person on this team poured something real into this robot – code, metal, strategy, heart.
“Making it to the semifinals is not the end of the story. It’s the moment right before the plot twist.”
Octobots team members hope their success at the district contests earned them enough points to qualify for the FIRST Robotics Competition California Southern State Championship later this month.
The team is waiting for the official word that they earned their spot, which they will find out at the end of next weekend when the final qualifying matches for the region end.
If they qualify to compete at the state championships, the team said they will need financial support from the community to help fund modifications to their robot to make it more competitive and offset the cost of travel expenses.
“Competing in our state is particularly competitive as the top four teams in the world right now are from California.” said Ethan Best, Octobots Robotics team member.
Octobots is currently ranked in the top 6% (236 out of 3,702) of FIRST Robotics teams in the world, top 7% (195 out of 2,930) in the U.S., and top 9% in California.
Last year, Team Octobots was recognized by FIRST Robotics with the Excellence in Engineering Award and the Rising All-Star Award.
Established by a small group of high school students and volunteer mentors in 2023 as the only FIRST Robotics team for grades 9 through 12 in the Goleta and Santa Barbara area, About Octobots Robotics Team 9084 is an all-volunteer team of 30-40 high school students.
“The program is dedicated to inspiring students to become science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging in mentor-based programs and competitions that build engineering and technology skills,” team organizers said.
The team receives no regular funds from the school or other sources and must raise operating funds each season to cover 100% of the cost to build the robot, travel fees, and competition fees.
Sponsors include Arthrex, Bodenhamer Family, Karl Storz, Santa Barbara Venture Partners, Teledyne FLIR, Teledyne Lecroy, and Waters-Wyatt Technology.
Visit www.teamoctobots.org for more information.
Learn more about FIRST Robotics at www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc.