2022 VEX World Champions

Robot Performance

As a part of an extremely eventful weekend, one of our VEX teams, 254F, attended the VEX World Championship in Dallas, Texas. After qualification matches in the Arts Division, 254F (seeded 2nd out of 81 teams) accepted an invitation to play with the #1 seeded alliance, team 38141B PiBotics B. Together, we were able to win the Arts Division and advance into the Thunderdome, where we competed against the 8 other division winners to win the World Championships!

Qualification Matches (Arts Division)

Our robot experienced few mechanical issues, so a lot of time was spent before qualification day fine tuning our autonomous code in preparation for the bevy of matches that were to come. We performed very well in our qualification matches, coming out with an 8-2-0 record and the second highest OPR in the Arts division. This success resulted in a 2nd place ranking with 23 win points. Going into the elimination rounds in the Arts Division, Team 38141B PiBotics B, the #1 seed, invited us to their alliance.

Playoff Matches (Arts Division)

We won every elimination match leading up to the finals, where we played 7 division final matches because of field errors, white screens, and many other issues. The strategy we used with Team 38141B was very simple. During auton, we went for the middle mobile goal, contested or not, because we had one of the fastest center mobile goal rush capabilities in the tournament. Team 38141B would be on the left side and would rush, either using their extender or not, depending whether they were contested. The main driving strategy we used was dependent on the number of rings we had scored. If we had more rings than our opponent and a greater amount of mobile goals, then we would drive up the platform with our mobile goals and have 38141B stack the mobile goals next to us. In any other situation, we would have both robots elevated on the platform with all possible mobile goals. This worked extremely well even though we had one mishap. It happened when our opponents in the finals changed places, but we quickly adjusted and made an appropriate counter. We simply rushed without using our extender and beat our opponents, leading them to revert back so we could follow our original strategy.

Inside the Thunderdome

Our alliance used a very similar strategy inside the Thunderdome. We used the same strategy as in the divisional rounds, because we knew no one would be able to counter it. Our assumption proved correct throughout the quarterfinal and semifinals.
Then came the finals. We misaligned our auto in the first match, causing us to be at a disadvantage due to a low mobile goal count. For the second finals match, after double and triple checking our alignment, we deadlocked with our opponents on the central mobile goal. Trusting in our robot, we continued the deadlock while 38141B collected rings around the field, our opponents eventually let go of the contested mobile goal, and the scoring from our alliance partner won us the match. In the tiebreaker match we missed the auto again, but our skilled driving and double park won us the match and the tournament!
We would like to shout out Team 9257C House Cats and Team 4154X U.S.S.R. for being an amazing alliance to compete against. Our alliance was very fortunate to emerge victorious after three incredibly competitive and nail-biting matches.

A Special Thanks

At the 2022 VEX World Championship in Dallas, we would have not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Special shout out to our pit crew and scouts for keeping 254F functioning at 100% capacity. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our mentors to make this experience possible for all of us. Lastly, Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and referees that made this tournament an exciting experience.

2022 FRC World Champions

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful week, we attend the 2022 FIRST World Championship in Houston, Texas from April 20th to April 23rd. After qualification matches in the Galileo Division we accepted an invitation to play in the playoff rounds alongside the #1 seed Team 1619 Up-A-Creek Robotics, along with Team 3175 Knight Vision, and Team 6672 Fusion Corps. Our alliance was able to win the Galileo Division and advance to the Einstein field to face the other five division winners, where we ultimately won our fifth World Championship!

Team 254 poses for a picture after winning at the 2022 FIRST Championship

Robot Performance

Qualification Matches (Galileo Division)

Throughout our qualification matches, we wanted to make sure that we secured four ranking points during each match. In order to do this, we tried to win the match, shoot at least 20 balls in the upper hub, and have an alliance partner climb with us. Through the efforts of our drive team and pit crew, our robot performed admirably each match. We achieved a 8-1-1 record, and a ranking point average of 3.60, with a rank of 4th out of 76.

Sideways hangs with other alliance partners at the end of a qualification match

Alliance Selection

Going into the playoff tournament in the Galileo Division, Team 1619 Up-A-Creek Robotics, the #1 seed, invited us to their alliance, along with FRC Team 3175 Knight Vision and FRC Team 6672 Fusion Corps.

Playoff Matches (Galileo Division)

From a strategic perspective, our alliance wanted the ability for all three robots to contribute offensively and defensively. We also wanted to have a triple traversal climb, to give our alliance more strategic flexibility and higher points ceiling. We were very lucky to be with three amazing teams that complemented each other perfectly.

On the Einstein Field

Our alliance modified our strategy during the Einstein matches, with Team 6672 playing more of a defensive role against the opposing alliance. Each of our three robots also attempted to climb to the traversal rung during the endgame, knowing that the first tiebreaker after wins was average Hangar points. Our performance allowed us to move on to the finals, facing the Turing Division winners. In the finals, our alliance won the first match by a single point and then lost the second match. In the tiebreaker match, our alliance’s strategists opted to swap out Team 6672 for Team 3175 to attempt a different defensive strategy that would allow us to control two opponent balls to help starve our opponents, and changed our offensive approach to try and avoid the very effective defense played by Team 4099 against us in the previous matches. Thanks to this new strategy and to our autonomous mode working better than previously, we were able to win the finals tiebreaker. We would like to shout out Team 1577 Steampunk, Team 4414 HighTide, Team 2539 Krypton Cougars, and Team 4099 The Falcons, for having an amazing alliance. Our alliance was very fortunate to emerge victorious after three incredibly tough and competitive matches.

A Special Thanks

At the 2022 FIRST World Championship in Houston, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Also a special shout out to our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our alliance readiness crew to keep our alliance partners ready throughout the tournament. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who supported us and helped us succeed.

Members of the Team 254, 1619, 6672, and 3175 wait for their next match on the Einstein Field

Our drive team poses for a picture on the Einstein Field after the last match

Silicon Valley Regional Champions

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful weekend we attended the 2022 Silicon Valley Regional in San Jose, CA. We had a great time at our second tournament of the FIRST Rapid React Season with our robot, Sideways. Alongside FRC Team 1678 Citrus Circuits and FRC Team 7419 QLS Tech Support, we were able to win the tournament, along with taking home the Quality Award!

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 1678 and Team 7419 pose for a picture with Sideways after winning at the 2022 Silicon Valley Regional

Robot Performance

Qualification Matches

In the qualification matches, we executed a strategy to earn all four ranking points by winning the match, scoring at least 20 balls in the upper hub, and climbing to the traversal rung. Through the tireless efforts of both our alliance partners and our own team members, we achieved a 9-0-0 record, and a perfect ranking point average of 4.00!

Sideways hangs, with an alliance partner, at the end of a qualification match

Alliance Selection

Team 254 representative, Nikhil Gangaram, stands with Team 1678 and Team 7419 as they agree to join our alliance

Going into the playoff tournament, we were excited to be able to form an alliance with FRC Team 1678 Citrus Circuits and FRC Team 7419 QLS Tech Support.

Playoff Matches

During the playoffs, we employed a strategy that involved our robot and Team 1678’s robot to be on opposite sides of the field, so we didn’t cross paths and bump into each other. This strategy maximized our total cargo collected and shot. We knew that balls would get stuck behind the hub, so Team 7419 swept the backside of the field while playing defense on the opposing alliance’s robots. Just before the endgame started, Team 7419 started to climb, in an attempt to get all three robots on the traversal rung.

Team 254, and alliance partners Team 1678 and Team 7419, hang on the Traversal Rung at the end of a playoff match

A Special Thanks

At the Silicon Valley Regional, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our qualification and playoff matches. Also a special thanks for our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. A big thank you to the Chairman’s Award team for presenting our submission in front of a panel of FIRST Judges. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, who helped us succeed in this regional.

Members of Team 254 Pit Crew repair Sideways before an upcoming playoff match

Drive team members of Team 254, 1678 and 7419 strategize before an upcoming playoff match

Team 254 President, Nikhil Gangaram, and mentor, Joey Diamond, assist a team before an upcoming match

Sacramento Regional Champions!

A Brief Summary
As part of an eventful weekend, we attend the Sacramento Regional in Davis, CA! We had a great time at our first season tournament after two long years. Alongside FRC Team 1678 Citrus Circuits, Team 5458 Digital Minds, we were able to win the tournament!
Robot Performance
Qualification Matches
Through our qualification matches, Sideways performed very well. Despite bearing one loss, going 10-1 overall, we were able to score an average of about 118 points with our alliance partners per match. According to our scouts, we scored an average of 79.5 points, in most of our qualification matches. We sought to earn the maximum number of ranking points, which meant getting an alliance partner to climb, and shooting at least 20 balls into the upper hub, which would get us to 2 RP. To get the final two ranking points, we had to win the match. Through this strategy, we set a world record of 177 points in our first match. At the end, we were the first seeded alliance heading into elimination matches.
Alliance Selection
Going into the elimination period, we chose to form an alliance with FRC Team 1678 Citrus Circuits, and FRC Team 5458 Digital Minds.
Elimination Matches
For elimination matches, we aimed to focus on shooting cargo and climbing as much as possible, hoping to get 20+ balls in the upper hub, and to have at least two robots on the traversal rung. Alongside our alliance partners, we were able to execute this plan well, even breaking our own world record with 180 points in a semifinals match. Our streak continued as we went on to win our finals matches against Team 973, 7157, and 5274, winning the tournament.
A Special Thanks
Also, a special shoutout to our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot, and our alliance readiness crew, who supported other teams throughout the tournament. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament possible, and all of our mentors, teachers and parents who supported us and helped us succeed!

Team 254 Presents: Dreadnought

Team 254 presents our 2020 entry into the FIRST Robotics Competition: Dreadnought. Dreadnought will be competing at the Central Valley Regional, followed by the Silicon Valley Regional and the FIRST Championship in Houston. More information on the robot.

Discovery Day 2019

Event Summary

On November 2, we presented our 2019 robot Backlash at the annual Bay Area Science Festival Discovery Day at Oracle Park. At the event, we showed what FIRST was, described the different competitions for different ages, and explained how our 2019 FRC season went. Team 254 worked in conjunction with Teams 604 (Quixilver), 1072 (Harker Robotics), 1868 (Space Cookies), and 2643 (Dark Matter) to showcase our collective engineering achievements as high school students participating in FIRST. Discovery Day allowed for us to inspire a wider audience within our community and ignite interest in FIRST Robotics.

Our Experience

While Discovery Day gave members of our community more exposure to FRC, it also provided a valuable experience for our team members, who loved facilitating the interactive education that FIRST Robotics entails. People of all ages watched the robot speed around the enclosure, and our robot played catch with them, exhausting the ball for each eager spectator to catch and roll back. We also invited spectators to interact with our robot’s many parts and explained each area’s function to provide them with kinesthetic learning and understanding of Backlash. Discovery Day was a huge success with our community, and it’s an experience we hope to continue creating for others!

2019 Bellarmine VEX Tournament

A Brief Summary

This past weekend, we hosted the Bellarmine Bay Area VEX Tournament, an annually hosted tournament hosted by Team 254’s VEX Program. We had five of our VEX Teams (254B, 254D, 254F, 254W, 254X) compete in the tournament. Congrats to VEX Team 315K Paradigm and VEX Team 3324V Supernovas-Fusion for winning the tournament! We would also like to shoutout VEX Team 3324V for winning the Robot Skills section of the tournament and VEX Teams 95070A Redwood Robotics and 315K Paradigm for winning the Excellence Award.

Event Summary and Highlights

General Summary

Overall, the tournament ran smoothly, we had no major hiccups throughout the event and everyone seemed to have had a great time. Our teams saw varying success, as our VEX teams D, W and F made it to eliminations. This event had many firsts for Bell Vex History, to mention a few, this was the first to have a Bell Vex Logo, and the first to have live scoring.

Robot Performance

254B

Throughout the tournament 254B was struggling with many issues. Most of the issues stemmed from connection and software issues. The robot’s hardware performed well, but not being able to control the hardware lead to this team’s demise. Unfortunately, this team placed last in the tournament. But, it was a great learning experience for the team.

254D

This team was also struggling with various software issues, their automatic positioning system was not working according to plan, leaving them to recreate their autonomous routes throughout the tournament. They were also having trouble getting their massive tray to deploy properly. Ultimately, they ended up near the bottom of the rankings. Because of their past success, 254W chose to pick them as their alliance partner, but lost in the round of 16.

254F

During the qualification matches, the robot performed really well, we were able to slow down the other teams with our very defensive robot. The six motor drive base really helped us push through all the cubes and defend very effectively. Our new and improved arm allowed us to be the fastest team at scoring cubes into the towers while also being able to stack cubes reasonably quickly. We ended up ranked in 7th place and we made it all the way to semifinals.

254W

This team had won 4 of 6 qualification rounds and placed in 20th after qualification rounds. Their new intake design was not working according to plan, causing them to focus on tower control instead of their designed purpose, cube stacking. Fortunately this worked out for their benefit, this team became ranked 23th and decided to choose 254D as their alliance partner. They then lost in the round of 16.

254X

Throughout qualification matches this robot struggled quite a bit. Resulting in 2 wins and 4 losses, this team placed in 45. They had issues stemming from their lift and intake. These issues resulted in slow intake speed and an inability to score very quickly or in high quantities.

A Special Thanks

At Bell Vex, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that attended the tournament. We would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who helped run the tournament smoothly.

Madtown Throwdown Offseason Tournament

A Brief Summary

This past weekend, we attended Madtown Throwdown, an annually hosted offseason tournament hosted by Team 1323 (Madtown Robotics), in Madera, CA. We had a great time jumping back into action with our robot, Backlash, before the start of the 2020 FRC Season. Shoutout to FRC Team 1323 MadTown Robotics, FRC Team 1678 Citrus Circuits, and FRC Team 971 Spartan Robotics, for winning the tournament!

Team 254’s Backlash and Swerve Bot in an alliance together before an upcoming match

Event Summary and Highlights

Robot Performance (Backlash)

Backlash approaching the HAB zone for a climb before the end of a match

Throughout our qualification matches, we sought to earn the maximum number of ranking points, which meant prioritizing scoring in the rocket in every match to get the rocket RP, as well as climbing and scoring enough points to win. We employed a new rocket RP scoring style that allowed us to utilize our partners well. Since the opposing defense was much better at Chezy Champs, we focused on the top two levels of the rocket and let our partners score on the first level. The HAB RP was a bit harder because of the increased point requirement. Thus, we made sure to always climb successfully and also get our partners to park on the platform. We consistently scored double climbs in our matches.

By the elimination period, we focused on simply winning our matches. We scored as many points as possible by scoring as many cargo balls as possible since they were worth more than hatches. We wanted to score enough hatches such that we had multiple points to score at any moment and avoid getting caught up by defense. We ran our cargo ship autonomous program to place hatch panels on the first two side slots of the cargo ship and then filled the rocket during most of our matches. Sometimes, we switched between the task of scoring hatches and cargo with our alliance partners to confuse defensive opponents.

Alliance Selection (Backlash)

Going into the elimination period, we formed an alliance with Team 1323 MadTown Robotics, Team 4698 Raider Robotics, and Team 6174 Kaprekar’s Constants.

Team 254 representative, Garrett Blosen, poses with our chosen alliance partners

Robot Performance (Swerve Bot)

Our swerve bot on the HAB zone before an upcoming match

With our swerve bot, we had no vision which made alignment quite difficult. Due to our alignment issues, hatch panel placement was harder to accomplish. Instead, we tried to focus more on scoring cargo, in all levels of the rocket and in the cargo ship. However, hatches on level one of the rocket and on the cargo ship were easier to score because we had our camera. We also placed hatches on level one of the rocket to open scoring locations. Then, we scored cargo in on level one of the rocket as well. Our swerve bot also was able to climb onto level three of the HAV with the suction cup climber, so we used that to get us the climb bonus during matches.

Alliance Selection (Swerve Bot)

Going into the elimination period, we formed an alliance with Team 1662 Raptor-Force Engineering, Team 5104 BreakerBots, and Team 2135 Presentation Invasion.

Team 254 representative, Emiliano Hansen, poses with our chosen alliance partners

A Special Thanks

At Madtown, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Also a special shout out to our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our alliance readiness crew to keep our alliance partners ready throughout the tournament. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who supported us and helped us succeed in this tournament. Special shoutout to Team 1323 MadTown Robotics for making this event possible.

The Team 254 pit crew in action

254 member, Safwaan Khan, in action as a pit crew member

Chezy Champs 2019

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful weekend, we hosted Chezy Champs, our annually hosted offseason tournament at Bellarmine College Preparatory, in our hometown of San Jose, CA. We had a great time jumping back into action with our robot, Backlash, before the start of the 2020 FRC Season. Alongside, Team 3647 Millenium Falcons, Team 971 Spartan Robotics, and Team 5700 SOTA Cyberdragons, we were able to win the tournament!

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 971 climb the HAB at the end of an elims match

Event Summary and Highlights

Robot Performance

Backlash scores cargo into the rocket shop during a quals match

Throughout our qualification matches, we sought to earn the maximum number of ranking points, which meant prioritizing scoring in the rocket in every match to get the rocket RP, as well as climbing and scoring enough points to win. We employed a new rocket RP scoring style that allowed us to utilize our partners well. Since opposing defense was much better at Chezy Champs, we focused on the top two levels of the rocket and let our partners score on the first level. The HAB RP was a bit harder because of the increased point requirement. Thus, we made sure to always climb successfully and also get our partners to park on the platform. We consistently scored double climbs in our matches.
By the elimination period, we focused on simply winning our matches. We scored as many points as possible by scoring as many cargo balls as possible since they were worth more than hatches. We wanted to score enough hatches such that we had multiple points to score at any moment and avoid getting caught up by defense. We ran our cargo ship autonomous program to place hatch panels on the first two side slots of the cargo ship and then filled the rocket during most of our matches. Sometimes, we switched between the task of scoring hatches and cargo with Team 971 to confuse defensive opponents.

Alliance Selection

Going into the elimination period, we chose to form an alliance with Team 3647 Millenium Falcons, Team 971 Spartan Rootics, and Team 5700 SOTA Cyberdragons.

Team 254 representative, Safwaan Khan, poses with our chosen alliance partners

A Special Thanks

At Chezy Champs, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Also a special shout out to our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our alliance readiness crew to keep our alliance partners ready throughout the tournament. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who supported us and helped us succeed in this tournament.

Members of Team 4183, Bit Buckets Robotics, hold up their newly acquired Chezy Champs swag

254 member, Safwaan Khan, in action as a scorekeeper

Drive team members, Jack Gnibus and Marcus Ma, enthusiastically clean up the field during a lunch break

Hot San Jose Nights 2019

Event Summary

On September 7th, Team 254 appeared at the 11th Annual Hot San Jose Nights at the Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, CA to demonstrate our 2019 season robot, Backlash. We talked about our 2019 season, what we do as a robotics team, and how others can get involved in robotics. To entertain some of the kids that came to see our robot, we even played catch with game pieces using our robot. Many of our team members were also able to speak with other parents about the FIRST Program and how their children could get involved. This event allowed us to share our knowledge and experiences with the surrounding community.

Team 254 President, Jack Gnibus, and Members, Marcus Ma and Emiliano Hansen, show Backlash to the surrounding crowd.

Our Experiences

Outreach leader, Safwaan Khan said, “Hot San Jose Nights was an amazing and exciting first event to attend as Outreach Director. Not only did I get to talk about robots, something I love to do, but I also got to interact with both children and adults. I got to show and explain the functions of the robot to children, and I got to explain the processes in which we construct our robot to adults. Overall, the event was a great way to meet and play with others in our community.” Our team allowed visitors to touch our robot and look at it up close, while also answering any of their questions about our robot. In general, people were astonished to see the speed of our robot and how tall it could expand, and several people asked how they could get involved with what FIRST has to offer. Overall, Hot San Jose Nights was an outstanding outreach event and we wish to continue making an impact in our community!

A crowd of onlookers observe Backlash in action!

Team 254 Member, Robert Ganino, talks about what it’s like to be on the team with an interested visitor.

2019 FRC Deep Dive

Check out our very own Sumi Govindaraju, Daniel George, and Andrew Torrance on First Updates Now’s latest edition of FRC Deep Dive below. If you have any further questions or comments please direct them towards the Chief Delphi thread for this episode.

2019 Technical Resources Release

Team 254 is proud to present the Technical Binder and Code Release for our 2019 Einstein finalist robot, Backlash. If you have any questions, feel free to comment on the respective Chief Delphi threads for our code release and our technical binder release.

2019 FRC World Championship

A Brief Summary

Last week, we attended the 2019 FIRST World Championship in Houston, Texas from April 17th to April 20th. Assigned to the Turing Division, we won the Division Championship Award and the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors.After becoming the Turing Division Champions, we executed a well-planned strategy alongside FRC Team 3310 Black Hawk Robotics, FRC Team 6986 PPT Bots, and FRC Team 948 NRG (Newport Robotics Group), allowing us to earn the second place title at the 2019 FRC World Championship in Houston!

Team 254 poses for a picture at the Hall of Fame Lunch in the George R. Brown Convention Center

Robot Performance

Qualification Matches (Turing Division)

Throughout our qualification matches, we sought to earn the maximum number of ranking points, which meant prioritizing scoring in the rocket in every match to get the rocket RP, as well as climbing and scoring enough points to win. Since we were competing in the 2019 FRC World Championship, most teams could fill a rocket with cargo by themselves or with another team on our alliance, which made our strategy easier to execute. When we were with partners who could manage scoring on the rocket themselves, we primarily worked on distracting defense. Seeing as finishing a rocket is incredibly hard under defense, giving the other teams an open other side of the field allowed them to finish their rocket as we worked on ours. In other matches, where we did not have partners capable of finishing the rocket, we accomplished the task ourselves, while fighting through the defense the best we could. We also made sure to finish each of our matches by climbing onto the HAB, so we could get the HAB docking ranking point. Luckily, we were with many other level 3 climbers, allowing us to stay out in the field longer as they climbed, but we always attempted a double climb for more points with the new climber.

We also kept tiebreaker points in mind during our divisional qualification matches. If there happened to be a tie in ranking points, we always prioritized scoring cargo to boost that metric. It also worked well seeing that cargo balls are worth more than hatch panels.

Alliance Selection

Going into the elimination period in the Turing Division, we chose to form an alliance with FRC Team 3310 Black Hawk Robotics, FRC Team 6986 PPT Bots, and FRC Team 948 NRG (Newport Robotics Group).

Team 254 representative, Brandon Chuang, poses with our chosen alliance partners

Elimination Matches (Turing Division)

During our elimination matches, we focused all our efforts on winning our matches. Since ranking point didn’t matter, we focused on scoring more matchpoints. We put most of our efforts into scoring as many cargo balls as possible, because they were worth more than hatches. We wanted to score enough hatches such that we had multiple points to score at any moment to allow for us to change our scoring location and not get stopped by defense. We ran our cargo ship autonomous program to place hatch panels on the first two side slots of the cargo ship, and then filled the rocket and did any other tasks throughout the rest of the matches.

Backlash with alliance partner, Team 3310, at the end of a match

On the Einstein Field

We generally maintained a similar strategy during the Einstein matches as in theTuring Division elimination round, by placing a larger focus on the number of matchpoints we scored. However, we used the amount of cargo scored was used as a metric in case any matches ended in a tiebreaker. We made it to our final tiebreaker match on the Einstein field and, unfortunately, lost due to an amazing performance carried out by FRC Team 1323 MadTown Robotics, FRC Team 973 Greybots, and FRC Team 5026 Iron Panthers, the Newton Division winners, allowing us to earn the second place title.

A Special Thanks

At the 2019 FIRST World Championship in Houston, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our matches. Also a special shout out to our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. We would also like to highlight the efforts of our alliance readiness crew to keep our alliance partners ready throughout the tournament. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who supported us and helped us succeed in this tournament.

Members of the Team 254 Pit Crew repair Backlash before an upcoming match

Our drive team poses for a picture on the Einstein Field

An action shot of Team 254’s suction climber at the end of a divisional qualifications match

2019 Silicon Valley Regional Champions!

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful weekend, we attended the 2019 Silicon Valley Regional, in San Jose, CA. We had a great time at our second tournament of the FIRST Destination: Deep Space Season with our robot, Backlash. We won the Engineering in Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi. Alongside FRC Team 5499 The Bay Orangutans and FRC Team 6418 The Missfits, we were able to win the tournament, earning our 20th Blue Banner at the Silicon Valley Regional!

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 5499 and Team 6418 pose for a picture with Backlash after winning at the 2019 Silicon Valley Regional

Robot Performance

Qualification Matches

Throughout our qualification matches, we executed a strategy in which our goals were to fill one full rocket for a ranking point and to climb to level 3 of the HAB zone at the end of every match. We encountered consistent defense from most opposing alliances, resulting in our failure to fill in a rocket in a few matches. We also tried to maximize scoring cargo balls since it was the tiebreaker metric when it came to matches in which each alliance earned the same number of ranking points. We also maximized the amount of cargo balls scored during qualification matches since cargo balls are worth more in point value than hatch disks. At the tournament, we experimented with a new form of counter defense that involved our alliance partners blocking an opposing alliance’s robot to clear a path to the rocket for us to score. We ended up with a record of 9-0-0 during the qualification match period.

Team 254 places a hatch onto the rocket during the tele-operated period

Alliance Selection

Team 254 representative, Brandon Chuang, stands with Team 5499 and Team 6418 as they agree to join our alliance

Going into the elimination period, we were excited to join an alliance with FRC Team 5499 The Bay Orangutans and FRC Team 6418 The Missfits.

Elimination Matches

During the elimination period, we employed a very dynamic, new strategy that involved our robot and Team 5499’s robot to cross paths in order to draw and confuse defense from the opposing alliance. This strategy was employed to maximize our total cargo score. We knew that Team 5499 was great at scoring cargo, so we did our best to open spots for them to score by placing hatches on the lower two levels of the rocket and the front of the cargo ship. Once each of these areas had a hatch in place, we began scoring cargo. This strategy worked well against defense because the crossing of paths by our robot and Team 5499 confused the opposing alliance’s defense robot. Team 6418 did a great job focusing on playing heavy defense on the opposing alliance.

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 5499 and Team 6418 climb onto the HAB Zone at the end of an eliminations match

A Special Thanks

At the Silicon Valley Regional, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our qualification and elimination matches. Also a special thanks for our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. A big thank you to the chairman’s presentation team for handling our team’s Chairman’s Presentation in front of a panel of FIRST Judges. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who helped us succeed in this regional.

Our alliance readiness crew assists Team 6241 in before an upcoming qualifications match

Members of Team 254 are congratulated by judges after winning the Engineering in Excellence Award at the 2019 Silicon Valley Regional

Team 254 Driver, Jack Gnibus, celebrates the regional victory with mentor, Joey Diamond

2019 San Francisco Regional Champions!

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful weekend, we attended the 2019 San Francisco Regional, in San Jose, CA. We had a great time at our first tournament of the FIRST Destination: Deep Space Season with our robot, Backlash. We won the Innovation In Control Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation for our code. Alongside FRC Team 971 Spartan Robotics and FRC Team 5700 SOTA Cyberdragons, we were able to win the tournament, earning another Blue Banner!

Team 254 poses for a picture with Backlash after winning at the 2019 San Francisco Regional

Robot Performance

Qualification Matches

Throughout our qualification matches, we executed a strategy in which our goals were to fill one full rocket for a ranking point and to climb to level 3 of the HAB zone at the end of every match. We encountered consistent defense from most opposing alliances, resulting in our failure to fill in a rocket in a few matches. We also tried to maximize scoring cargo balls since it was the tiebreaker metric when it came to matches in which each alliance earned the same number of ranking points. We also maximized the amount of cargo balls scored during qualification matches since cargo balls are worth more in point value than hatch disks. We ended up with a record of 10-1-1 during the qualification match period.

Team 254 places a cargo ball into the cargo ship during the tele-operated period

Alliance Selection

Team 254 representative, Brandon Chuang, stands with Team 5700 as we join Team 971 in an alliance

Going into the elimination period, we were excited to join an alliance with FRC Team 971 Spartan Robotics and FRC Team 5700 SOTA Cyberdragons.

Elimination Matches

Our main goal was to draw defense away from Team 971’s robot, allowing Team 971 to focus on scoring cargo balls. This strategy gave us the opportunity to score more points, since filling up the rocket did not give our alliance an advantage during the elimination period. Though we focused on distracting defense from the opposing alliance, we scored a few hatches for extra points. By scoring hatches on the rocket, we also opened up more options for Team 971 to score cargo balls. If we encountered particularly hard defense, we always had the option of scoring a hatch on level 1 of the rocket and getting around the defense later. This strategy allowed us to continuously have a lead during the match. In endgame, we climbed to either level 2 or level 3 of the HAB. Whenever we chose to execute a double climb, both our robot and Team 971’s robot climbed to level 3 of the HAB. During single climbs, Team 971 focused on level 3 of the HAB while we focused on climbing to level 2 of the HAB.

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 971 and Team 5700 load onto the HAB Zone before an upcoming eliminations match

Our alliance readiness crew assists Team 5700 in before an upcoming eliminations match

A Special Thanks

At the San Francisco Regional, we would not have been able to be so successful without the amazing teams that we were able to work with during our qualification and elimination matches. Also a special thanks for our pit crew and drive team for properly maintaining our robot during the tournament. A big thank you to the chairman’s presentation team for handling our team’s Chairman’s Presentation in front of a panel of FIRST Judges. Team 254 would also like to thank all the volunteers and judges that made this tournament an exciting experience, and all of our mentors, teachers, and parents who helped us succeed in this regional.

Members of Team 254 cheer enthusiastically after winning a regional

Team 254 Business Development Director, Suraj Roy, discusses our business plan with a judge for the Entrepreneurship Award

Team 254 Presents: Backlash

Team 254 presents our 2019 entry into the FIRST Robotics Competition: Backlash. Backlash will be competing at the San Francisco Regional, followed by the Silicon Valley Regional and the FIRST Championship in Houston. More information on the robot.

VEX States 2019

On March 15, 2019, VEX teams D, F, and X flew to Los Angeles States, and team M went to San Jose States, to compete for a spot at VEX Worlds. Unfortunately, none of our teams won an instant qualification to Worlds; however, teams D and F lost at semifinals at LA, one match away from being qualified, and team M won the Build Award!

At San Jose, team M had to battle out against some of the toughest teams in the area. Even despite the tough competition and minor robot issues during qualifications, team M was still able to keep a tough fight. At LA, all 3 of our teams ended up high in qualifications. Team D and F allied, while X was chosen by another good team. However, in their first match team X went against the two winners of the Google Signature event, which was the most difficult tournament our teams went to this season, happening a few weeks ago. Despite not winning a qualification at States, our teams will most likely get qualified through skills or online challenges. In skills, teams D and F are 12th and 13th in California rankings, and we are a finalist for the website online challenge. By next week, hopefully we will have a better idea of how many teams we will be sending to Worlds!

VEX Turning Point By The Bay Champions!

On January 19, 2019, 254 VEX teams 254D, M, X, and W attended the 2019 VEX Turning Point At The Bay tournament in Richmond. Overall, the tournament was the best tournament yet this season, with 254X winning the tournament along with team 81818X, and 254D winning the Excellence Award. Both teams are now qualified to attend a California State Championship in March.

During qualification matches, 254M got 2nd, 254D got 8th, 254X got 11th, and 254W got 15th. For elimination matches, team D and M allied with each other in the 2nd seed alliance, while X allied with 81818X in the third seed, and W allied with 95070C. 254W got eliminated in the first round, the round of 16, while the other 254 teams moved on. In the semifinals, 254X and 81818X fought and won a tough match against 254M and D, and moved on to win the finals. Last, while awards were being announced, team 254D was given the Excellence Award for overall great performance in the competition, during the judge’s presentation, and with robot skills.

Madtown Throwdown Offseason Tournament

A Brief Summary

As part of an eventful weekend, we attended Madtown Throwdown, an annually hosted offseason tournament hosted by Team 1323 (Madtown Robotics), in Madera, CA. We had a great time jumping back into action with our robot, Lockdown, before the start of the 2019 FRC Season. Alongside, FRC Team 1323 MadTown Robotics, their offseason robot (9323), and our own programming robot (9254), we were able to win the tournament!

Team 254 and alliance partners Team 1323 and our programming robot 9254 in position before an elims match

Event Summary and Highlights

General Summary

Overall, Madtown Throwdown was a great event for our team. Lockdown, our competition robot, went undefeated 15-0. Our programming robot, was run by an all-freshman pit crew and drive team to ensure that our new members gain a valuable experience before the 2019 FRC Season. The programming robot had a great qualifications match record and was lucky to join Lockdown in an alliance at the tournament. We also had a swerve robot, which we worked on all summer, with a 3-person pit crew, which finished 2nd to last place in the tournament. With rotating pit crews and drive teams, all team members were able to gain some valuable technical experience at the tournament.

Programming Robot Drive Team Members, Abhinav Nallapa and Dylan Shumba, are seen in action

Robot Performance

Competition Robot Strategy

During qualification matches, we aimed to earn all 4 ranking points. In order to to reach this goal, we had to run our switch autonomous program. We also fought to achieve scale dominance as early as possible during the match to allow for time to shore up our own switch/exchange, attack the opposing alliance’s switch, and hang at the end of the match. We generally went for the scale first and peeled off to either our own switch or the opposing alliance’s switch whenever needed.
During alliance selection, we partnered with Team 1323 Madtown Robotics, their offseason robot (9323), and our own programming robot (9254). During the elimination matches, we worked with Team 1323 and ran our dual autonomous program to gain dominance over the scale, while ensuring ownership of our switch as well. Lockdown and 1323’s competition robot focused on scale ownership, and 1323’s competition robot would fall back for defense whenever necessary. When we had a headstart on the scale, Lockdown would attack the opponent switch, as seen during quarterfinals and semifinals. 1323’s competition robot hung at the end of the match, but we did not pursue a buddy climb since the other two robots were unable to climb onto our forks.

Programming Robot Strategy

During the qualification matches, our programming robot played a supportive role and generally tried to get a few cubes scored in its switch, scale, and exchange. However, during the elimination matches, our programming robot functioned as a switch/exchange robot to ensure that we had enough cubes to use the levitate powerup. We also chose to defend robots from the opposing alliance when given the opportunity.

Summer Project Robot Strategy

During the qualifications matches, our summer project robot functioned as a switch/exchange robot to defend our own switch and make sure there were cubes in our vault. Sometimes, we would also attack our opponent’s switch. Unfortunately, our swerve robot was not chosen during the elimination period.

Lockdown and our Summer Project Robot in position before a qualification match

A Special Thanks

Since this was Team 254’s third time attending Madtown Throwdown, we would like to say thank you to Team 1323 (Madtown Robotics) for hosting the tournament and making us feel welcome!

Some new members on Team 254 celebrate the team’s victory

Discovery Day 2018

Event Summary

On November 3rd, Team 254 appeared at the Bay Area Science Festival Discovery Day in AT&T Park to demonstrate our 2018 season robot Lockdown. We talked about our 2018 season, what we do as a robotics team, and how others can get involved in robotics. We collaborated with Teams 1868 (Space Cookies), 2643 (Dark Matter), 4159 (Cardinalbotics), and 5026 (Iron Panther Robotics) to demonstrate to people what robotics and FIRST have allowed us to accomplish as young high school students. This event allowed us to share our knowledge and experiences with the surrounding community.

254 Members and alumni, Themis Hadjioannou, pose for a team picture

Our Experiences

Our experience at Discovery Day not only spread awareness for STEM within our community, but also made an impact on our team. Outreach leader, Abhinav Nallapa stated, “I loved seeing the smiles and the cheers from the kids watching when they saw our robot lifting up power cubes 7 feet into the air.” Our team allowed visitors to touch our robot and look at it up close, while also answering any of their questions about our robot. In general, people were astonished to see the speed of our robot and how tall it could expand, and a several people asked how they could get involved with what FIRST has to offer. Overall, Discovery Day was an outstanding outreach event and we wish to continue making such a profound impact in our community!

Team 254 Outreach Director, Abhinav Nallapa, shows the capabilities of Lockdown to interested visitors