Caleb x VeX

My journey into VEX robotics began during my sophomore year of high school when I was placed on the B team alongside fellow rookies. While I had dabbled in LEGO Mindstorm back in middle school, this was my first real experience in competitive robotics which packed a whole new level of complexity and excitement. While we started by replicating the standard hero bot, as we gained confidence and experience, we began to incorporate our own components and subsystems, transforming our initial design into something uniquely ours.

It quickly became a habit for our team to spend late hours in the makerspace, grinding away at our robot while fostering a strong team spirit. We attended various competitions at international schools across Shanghai, steadily reaching a higher final ranks with each event. Such events included:

-SAS PX Scrimmage (12/2/2022), Final Rank: 2

-SSIS Scrimmage 2(2/18/2023), Final Rank: 4

-Jiao Tong National Competition (3/4/2023), Final Rank: Bottom end

-CISS Official Tournament (3/12/2023), Final Rank: First

The Jiaotong competition, in particular, was a humbling experience. It was a national-level event in China, to which we eagerly attended despite our subpar robot and little experience. Despite our low ranking, this competition providing a unique opportunity to witness how the top teams approached not just build and design of their physical robots, but also strategy, driving, and alliance cooperation. This exposure was invaluable, shaping my understanding of what it takes to excel in robotics and igniting a fire to push myself to higher levels.

This season, we truly went all out, immersing ourselves in research, prototyping, and strategy even before the official season had started. Our team dedicated countless hours to deep dives into the VEX forum and YouTube, exploring effective build strategies, optimum gear ratios, and any innovative designs that would give us a competitive edge. This was the season where I was tasked with being a lead builder in addition to the lead coder following the graduation of our previous coders. 

Throughout the season, our robot underwent massive transformations, with significant overhauls to the catapult, wings, and intake mechanisms. We were relentless in our pursuit of improvement, which paid off as we competed in over double the number of competitions and scrimmages compared to the previous year.This was also the year we ventured into the realm of autonomous functions and stabilization mechanisms (e.g. rotational PIDs) to enhance our robot's performance and consistency. 

Despite being a year filled with many frustrating second places and setbacks, our team demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination throughout the VEX Robotics season. Each challenge we faced served as an opportunity for growth, pushing us to refine our robot and improve our skills. Our perseverance paid off, culminating in a thrilling playoff run that showcased our hard work and dedication.