Robotics

In 2015, a mentor from RR and a student team member partnered with Bill Binko, the co-founder of ATMakers.org, to learn more about adapting My Pal Scout Toys when they attended a small workshop in Orlando, Florida. After attending this workshop, the RR mentor and students worked with the Easter Seals of Southeastern PA on a Go Baby Go project, where they created a video guide to adapt a 12-volt Power Wheel Jeep.

Roaring Riptide’s dive into Assistive Technology began in June 2017, when students partnered with a UF Student Organization B.O.T.S. (Building Others Through Stem) to host their first toy adapt-a-thon event. At this event, ten My Pal Scout toys were finished and delivered to an AT specialist in our surrounding community. In the months after, they were invited to attend their first ever Holiday Toy Adapt-A-Thon at the FACTUR workspace in Orlando, Florida. Along with B.O.T.S. and FIRST FRC Team #5816- GRA-V, Roaring Riptide students adapted over 100 toys for local children in North Central Florida for the holidays. RR has worked with multiple agencies and non-profit organizations to positively impact the lives of children with disabilities at the local, state, national, and international levels.

About the Robot

• Every year, FIRST releases a new game with different tasks that the robot must complete. From the release date in January, we then have six weeks to design, prototype, build, test, iterate, program, and wire the robot to be ready for competition.
  • For the 2024 season, FRC Team 4118 competed with our robot, EnsemBill. The team competed at the Tallahassee Regional.
    • Crescendo is the game for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition. The game’s theme is based on the overall theme of STEAM, with FRC being specific to the theme of music. This game is played with three alliance partners on the red or blue side against teams on the opposite side of three alliance partners.
    • Your opponent in one match might be your alliance partner in another!
    • In this game, industrial-sized, capable robots are designed and programmed by high-school student teams to perform various tasks, including launching rings called Notes into various goals, and hanging from chains (called the stage) at the end of the match.

Even if you’re not interested in robotics or engineering, joining a FIRST robotics team might still be for you! Being on a FIRST Robotics competition team is much like being part of a small business. Skills needed to make a FIRST team successful include: entrepreneurship, design, art, photography, acting/performing, marketing, business, mechanics, engineering, computer-aided design, programming, leadership, spirit, electrical, strategy, safety, and so much more! Email us today to learn how you can join our team!

The students on Roaring Riptide: FRC Team 4118, strive to raise awareness and excitement in STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—through our local community, state, and national outreach efforts. We believe our outreach efforts help to foster the acquisition of softer skills such as teamwork, work ethics, flexibility, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and adaptability.