From February 22 to February 23, Turbo V8 — a local robotics team which includes Amador students — competed in the Norcal First Tech Challenge (FTC) Championship with their self-designed robot.
Competition Format
FTC requires teams to design and build their own robot and score points based on the specific challenge guidelines. Teams have to score maximum points with another randomly paired team in a 2v2 format.
“This year, the challenge was to pick up blocks in the submersible, and score them into a bucket. You have to figure out how to maximize the points with your partner team while also going against two other robots,” said Team Lead Veer Nanda (‘26).
New Faces
As the team progressed through the year, new members helped bring fresh ideas and a new perspective. However, oftentimes having a cohesive team was a challenge with all of the new members.
“Robot-wise, this season’s been solid. We have a solid game strategy and the robots made a solid progression. Ultimately, it was the integration of new members that was a real challenge this season,” said Hardware Lead Devesh Senthilraja (‘26).
Each member brought a unique skillset to the team whether that may be for logistics, outreach, or specific concentrations in designing the robot.
“I met Devesh and Veer outside, and I had the chance to be part of the team. At first, I had to go through a recruitment process where there were tasks I had to complete,” said Hardware Member Rukshana Yowvanaraj (‘26).
Creating the Robot
The FTC organization lists guidelines for each robot competing to ensure an even playing field at competitions.
“Some constraints we have are budgeting, sizing, and electronic requirements. First, we have to consider how much we can fit onto the robot. Then, we can consider what is the most effective way to complete the game,” said Nanda.
Provided by: Abhay GIrish
The hardware team is responsible for building the physical components of the robot. From developing and printing parts to designing the robot, this team is in charge of the physical aspect.
“Being on the team, I learned a great array of things. However, the main thing that I captured is the development of mechanisms in computer-aided design (CAD). This mainly revolves around making sure all potential points of robot malfunction are considered,” said Yowvanaraj.
The software team handles all of the coding and programming to effectively meet the objectives of the challenge. Without the correct programming, the team might not be able to score points as efficiently as they can.
“We program robot functionality like pathing, scoring, and control. We work together to optimize everything for the competition,” said Software member Aarav Shah (‘26).
Looking Ahead to Internationals
Now, after winning the regional competition, the team looks towards the international competition in Houston from April 16th to April 19th.
“After winning regionals, I felt accomplished and excited for the next step where we can compete on the world stage,” said Shah.
Turbo V8 started as a group of friends interested in robotics. Soon, however, it has transformed into a successful robotics team looking to make its mark on the FTC competition.
“Eventually we wanted to build robots for a purpose. We all looked up, ‘How can we do this?’ We found this competition that focuses on developing your skills for the real world, which was eventually the goal,” said Nanda.
