Nemesis Takes Off

It’s that time again! This year’s FIRST(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Kickoff! on January 5th, 2019 marked the start of a new build season for nearly 4,000 FRC teams worldwide. FIRST Robotics strives to bring the competitive spirit to students passionate about STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) through inventive challenges.

Over 30 local teams attended the Kickoff! at Montgomery High School including Nemesis from Robbinsville High School, S.P.I.K.E from Hopewell Valley and Peddie School Robotics. The day began with students taking advantage of the golden opportunity to attend a multitude of workshops which included the following: Optimized Fundraising, CAD(computer-aided design), Bumper Design, Sensors, and Autodesk Inventor.

Up next, the big reveal.

The tension in the room was thick as the students anxiously waited for the challenge, broadcast live from FIRST headquarters in New Hampshire. Sara Marincas, a Nemesis freshman gushed, “After hearing about previous competitions, I looked forward to my first Kickoff! and couldn’t wait to find out about this year’s challenge!” The countdown began; T-minus: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Introducing the 2019 FIRST Robotics challenge: Destination: Deep Space.

Teams build competitive robots in six short weeks with limited finances and resources. This year’s game is played with two alliances of three robots each. Each alliance has two rocket ships and a smaller cargo ship. The game begins during a sandstorm where operators are unable to see their robots and must use pre-programmed instructions or vision technology to begin the match. To score points, the robots load their cargo and hatch panel game pieces onto the ships. The teams place balls (cargo) onto the ship and cover it with a disc (hatch panel) to secure it.

Following the reveal, whispered robot ideas could be heard everywhere. Griffin David, a Nemesis freshman described his first Kickoff! as “an amazing experience that left me with a rush of excitement for the upcoming season.”

Teams hurried out of the auditorium, to their respective schools, eager to start brainstorming and prototyping their robots. “As my final build season begins, I can’t wait to see what our strategy team comes up with. This looks like it's going to be an exciting ride,” extolled Rahul Sawant, Nemesis senior.

Nemesis will be competing at Mount Olive on March 9th-March 10th; The Central New York Regional on March 14th-16th; and Bensalem on March 30th-March 31st. All events are free and open to the public.

Nemesis would like to extend great thanks to their generous sponsors: Robbinsville High School, Navair, Picatinny Arsenal, Lockheed Martin, Department of Defense STEM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CCL Label, Nordson, Investors Foundation, New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Robbinsville Education Association, Princeton Sports & Family Medicine, DesignTree, EAG Laboratories, RAS Process Equipment, Robbinsville Education Foundation,  Sharbell Development Corp., Computer Components Corp., Gilbane Inc., Northstar Vets, Triangle Copy, Coldwell Banker, and Skylink Technology Incorporated.