A new robotics team, open to any public/private/home high school student in the Rockford region, received the Industrial Design Award at the Phantom Lakes Regional Competition in Mukwonago, WI. This award, sponsored by General Motors, recognizes the team that demonstrates excellence in industrial design – balancing form, function, and aesthetics. In typical FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) fashion, awards are presented with puns or references to team identity.
More than half of the team are RPS 205 students:
Odysseus Gindlin - senior, Guildford - programming sub-team lead
Kai Holdmann - junior, Auburn - team co-captain, design and manufacturing
Zephyr Farris - junior, Auburn - media sub-team lead
Leon Pontek - junior, Auburn (exchange student from Warsaw, Poland)
Micah Quirk - freshman, Auburn
Jaxon Ketchum - 8th grade, Marshall
Here is what the judges had to say about this aviation-inspired team:
“This team differentiated themselves with their sleek and stunning machine. An industrial approach to design and material selection has KEPT THEIR WHEELS FIRMLY ON THE GROUND. The generative design gives them a LIFT TO SOAR above all others.”
And soar, they did, being ranked nine out of 54 teams in their very first season.
Judges were particularly impressed by the team’s use of metal and 3D-printed plastic parts that were designed and manufactured by students and the successful use of generative design – an advanced engineering approach to optimize material usage for strength and weight (there is a maximum weight for competitions).
This process creates parts the are not only efficient but visually interesting and elegant.
Kai Holdmann, Auburn High School junior and team co-captain, led the generative design process: “It’s amazing to use the tools that are on the leading edge of industry at this stage in my learning to develop unique and advantageous robot designs.”
The new team, launched with a start-up grant from NASA, is mentored by a committed group of professionals - most of whom are alumni of FIRST Robotics themselves. The most recent alum is NIU Engineering junior, Liam O’Sullivan, who speaks to how far the team has come in only one season saying: “The fact that we won the Industrial Design Award proves that these students can compete at a very high level. We are actively recruiting new students and looking forward to helping them expand their abilities, develop new skills, and teach and inspire each other, passing the excitement and knowledge to the next generation as the team continues to grow.”
To that end, FLYT 2290 is holding two public Open Houses for prospective students entering grades nine through 12:
Monday, June 9 & Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00–8:00 p.m.
FLYT Hangar (bot shop) at 304 Main (304 N. Main Street, second floor)
Students with interests beyond building or programming – such as CAD, graphic design, machining, social media, business, project management, and more – are encouraged to attend. Learn more at www.FLYT2290.com.
About FIRST (For Inspiration in Robotics, Science, and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC): FRC challenges teams of high school students to design and build a 125-pound robot capable of competing in a complex gam – all within a seven-week timeframe. From the Global Kickoff in January to the first week competitions in late February, students brainstorm, model, prototype, machine custom parts, wire electrical systems, and write the software that brings their robot to life. It’s a rigorous, hands-on learning experience that mirrors real-world engineering and fosters teamwork.