By: Liam O'Toole and Julia Ruch

It’s 19 degrees, amid a swirl of French, English and the palpable exuberance - a Joie de vivre - of Montréal. The Robbinsville FIRST Robotics team Nemesis 2590 is gearing up for Festival De Robitque in Quebec, marking the team’s third visit in ten years. But they’re not alone. Teams from across Canada, France, the United States, and Morocco have gathered here to compete in the FRC 2017 design challenge: FIRST Steamworks.

After six weeks of 15-hour days of CADing, virtually testing, and fabricating parts in-house, Nemesis is proud to introduce Eris: our 2017 competition robot. Fast, adaptable, and capable of picking up game pieces off the floor to score, Eris does it all, embodying the cooperation between students and their guiding mentors: Peter Wolfe, Jeff Keller, Marc Began, John Ruch, Tom Young, and Alex Marincas. A shooter, climber, dual-speed drivetrain, and an innovative dustpan gear intake makes Eris an offensive playing powerhouse. Such versatility earned Nemesis the Industrial Design Award at the Springside-Chestnut Hill District Event.

The pressure and high stakes aren’t limited to the field. Based on the team’s sustainability, fiscal responsibility, professional image, and community service, judges at the Hatboro-Horsham District Event honored Nemesis with the prestigious Entrepreneurship Award. Nemesis runs like a business with six subteams, build, marketing, finance, operations, social media, and software (guided by Peter Barlis, Joy Wolfe, Shilpa Vast, and Karen Young). Nemesis’ social media team documents all of the team’s endeavours through articles and photographs on the team website.

“FIRST Steamworks, inspired by steam power technology from the Industrial Revolution, features two alliances of three robots each. The game starts with a 15 second autonomous period in which robots operate solely through pre-coded instructions. The remaining 2 minutes and 15 seconds of each match consists of fierce competition between the alliances in which robots are student driven. Each alliance's goal is to pick up gears and bring them to the airship, an elevated platform located within the field. Teams are also tasked with preparing the airship for takeoff by collecting as much fuel (balls) as possible and shooting it into the boiler (goal). In the last 30 seconds of the match, robots climb onto the airship via a rope, which earns additional points. The alliance with the most points at the end of the match wins! (FIRST Robotics).”

During the high-pressure, pre-programmed autonomous period, Eris swiftly delivers valuable gears to the airships from code written by students Conner Hofenbitzer, John Miranda, and James Aikins, mentored by Jeff Keller, Peter Wolfe and John Ruch. After these 15 seconds, driver Dahany Choi enters the pilot’s seat, racing Eris down the field, avoiding defensive robots, debris, and other game pieces to the pickup station. Here, Aditya Pillai drops gears near Eris, which sweeps them into its dustpan intake. Dahany whips Eris around for the dash back to Niratjot Grewal, stationed at the Airship. Niratjot pulls the gear onto the platform, slams it onto the rotor pegs, and turns the crank to spin the gear train to activate the rotors. In the last 30 seconds, Niratjot drops a rope, which Dahany skillfully maneuvers the robot beneath. Eris’ velcro coated climber grabs the rope, and winds the 120-pound robot up to the top, 6 feet in the air in 4 seconds to score a crucial 50 points.  The drive team is backed up by drive coach Harsha Pavuluri and Nemesis’ crack pit crew -  Charlie D’Amico, Matthew Began, and electrical whizz Mariko McMurtry - prepared to tackle any repair at any given moment. “This has been a phenomenal experience. We have the freedom, yet the responsibility to design and build this world-class robot. I’m proud to be a part of this extremely dedicated team.” said RHS senior Charlie D’Amico.

Exposing themselves to a new culture, the team spent a day exploring the streets of Old Montréal, starting at the beautifully gothic Notre Dame Basilica. Among their adventures, Nemesis happened upon a French cafe, complete with a live pianist to add to the mood. Members visited the modern PHI Center for virtual reality, where they experienced 3D, 360 degree view movies of Jurassic World, Yosmite National Park, and Cirque de Soleil. Nemesis perused the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. “I was part of the 2015 Montreal trip...the culture, the camaraderie and enthusiasm of the other FRC teams, and hospitality are really welcoming,” said team member Emily Marsch. In Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, laser lights are persistant, and entusiam is contaious amongst the competing teams.

After an action-packed five days and a long bus ride home, FIRST Robotics Team Nemesis 2590 is back home from an incredibly successful and enjoyable competition at the Festival de Robotique in Montreal, Canada. The team secured a wildcard bid to the FIRST World Championships in St. Louis as finalists and were honored with their second Entrepreneurship Award this season for exemplary business strategy, community outreach, and team sustainability.

The competition began on Thursday, March 23rd, with a day of practice matches; it was the ideal opportunity for Nemesis’ scout team to study the competition and identify the best robots. Friday morning’s official opening ceremonies-- delivered with Montreal’s trademark gusto-- preceded a long run of qualification rounds. With 46 competitive robots challenging Nemesis to bring out their best, the rankings fluctuated constantly.

As the returning 2-time champions of the Montreal Festival de Robotique, we hope to qualify for the MAR and FIRST World Championships. Nemesis extends its sincerest gratitudes to Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, as well as all the Friends and Family of Nemesis, for believing in the team and encouraging further STEAM education.

To follow or make a donation to the Robbinsville High School’s robotics team 2590 Nemesis, please visit FRC2590.org.

The horn blew signaling 30 seconds left in the match. Nemesis attempted to mount a gear to the airship but were too far away. After multiple attempts they gave up on the gear and headed straight for the newly released rope. Suddenly Nemesis was driving in circles. 5 seconds remained. More circles.The horn blew declaring the end of the match. A win would have sealed the victory delivering Nemesis’ fifth consecutive Hatboro-Horsham win. With this devastating loss, Nemesis was carried off the field only to discover it was missing a wheel.

It is Saturday March 5th and the Hatboro-Horsham District competition is underway. Nemesis FRC2590 from Robbinsville, New Jersey is one of the 36 robotics team from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania at the event. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Nemesis arrived at Hatboro High School in Horsham Pennsylvania ready for the 7:30am start. With matches not starting until 11:00, Nemesis is hard at work in the pits. Build Members are scurrying about, making last minute modifications to the robot and Marketing Members are taking pictures and eagerly awaiting visits from the judges.

During their only practice match, Nemesis had a rocky start, struggling to place gears on the pegs, but showcased a successful climb. The Build Team knew what needed to be fixed, and exactly how to fix it. Nemesis was ready.

Back to the pits to prepare for their first qualification match and to fix the gear issue, Nemesis impatiently waited for their time on the field. While Build Members were working on the robot, the Marketing Members were conversing with judges about what it means to be on Nemesis and how “we run our team like a high-tech business”.

Let the games begin. Eris, Nemesis’ FIRST Steamworks robot, had a rough start. After losing the first three matches, the Drive Team worked hard to counteract each issue as it arose and things started looking up. Nemesis finished the qualification matches 6-4-0.

Sophomore Build Team Member, Bhargavi Lanka professed, “My first competition was such a surreal experience! It’s incredible seeing our robot start at the bottom and climb its way up the competition.”

Sunday, shortly after 11:00, alliance selection began. Nemesis found itself on the third seed alliance joining captain FRC3974, E=mcD, and their alliance partner FRC2539, Krypton Cougars.

Dominating both the quarterfinal and semi final matches, Nemesis and the Blue Alliance headed into the finals hoping to bring home the district championship trophy. Alas, the alliance encountered several unwanted difficulties.

The first three finals matches were a win, a tie and a loss for the Blue Alliance. Throughout the tie breaking match the Red and Blue Alliances kept the scores close. By the end of the match the score was 240, Red, and 235, Blue. It all came down to the climb and when a Red robot fell off of the rope the Blue Alliance knew they had the win. But, as Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” As fate would have it, with less than two seconds left on the clock, a Blue Alliance scaling rope broke and the Krypton Cougars’ robot crashed to the ground as the final bell tolled. Because of this series of unfortunate events, the score remained 240-235, with the Red Alliance taking home the win, breaking Nemesis’ Hatboro-Horsham District Event win streak.

The Nemesis family joined together to watch Eris play in her a inaugural competition. Not only were team members and parents on hand to cheer her on, but also, alumni, alumni families and Nemesis friends. Nemesis also had many alumni volunteering at the event and Nemesis students volunteered at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics donation table.

Nemesis took home the Entrepreneurship Award showcasing the Marketing and Business Teams hard work and efforts. The award celebrates a team which has developed a comprehensive business plan and the business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program.

Nemesis and Eris will be competing at Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy District Event, March 18-19 and Festival de Robotique - Montreal Regional, March 23-25.

With the clock nearing midnight Nemesis drapes the bag over their hard work to officially end another Build Season.  The team is proud of their finished product. Six weeks filled with designing, prototyping, machining, and assembling concludes as they seal up the bag and the Build Season, opening the door to Competition Season. The team celebrates with sparkling cider and a little fun.  

The finished robot consists of a compilation of ideas from nearly every member of the team, hopefully forming a force to be reckoned with.  With new and innovative ideas constantly being proposed, the robot underwent numerous changes and transformed from a simple concept to a fully functioning robot, eager for Competition Season.  Feeling satisfied after facing the many engineering obstacles, Nemesis wipes their brows and lays down their tools.  

Now it’s time for Nemesis to make all necessary preparations for the first competition of the season.  This includes ensuring that the driver practices extensively with the team’s practice robot in order to master the game, putting the finishing touches on the software for the autonomous routine and teleoperated period, and planning game strategies.  But mostly, Nemesis looks forward to showcasing and competing with their robot at the Hatboro Horsham District Event.  

Nemesis anticipates the upcoming season with hope and excitement, ready to put their hard work to the test and go FULL STEAM AHEAD!

It was the best of times - from prototyping and brainstorming ideas to the creation of a finalized product, but now the inevitable End Build date has arrived. Build Season reached its climax and conclusion this past week with finalizations and tuning across the board. As a team, we feel confident in our creation, and eagerly await the chance to compete.

On the Fabrication and Assembly Subteam, both the practice and competition bots have been completed. Various critical parts were fabricated and added to the finished product. Subsystem testing has been ongoing, and we finally had a breakthrough with our drivetrain maneuverability.

In the Electrical Department, wiring and routing are finished. In addition, the shooter and intake are functioning properly.

With Software, our autonomous routine, with the aid of vision integration, is completed and tested. The accuracy and precision of our shooting routine continued to improve over time, the intake system gathered fuel effectively, and gear retrieval and placement went well.

We look forward to another Competition and Travel Season as the 10th anniversary of our legacy unfolds, but for now, we’ll take time to rest.

Of course, countless hours will be dedicated to refining and improving our design in the Off-Season, because Build Season never “really” ends.

We’ll see you at Hatboro-Horsham, Springside-Chestnut Hill, and Festival de Robotique!

With all engines at full capacity, Nemesis’ Marketing Team can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as Week Six of the 2017 Build Season comes to a close. After wrapping up the very successful Sponsor Networking Night with follow up communications, the Marketing Team changed gears as they focused on the Competition Season. Countless hours were spent working on both the Dean's List and Entrepreneurship Award documentation. Preparation for the team’s well known image took priority as team apparel orders were finalized. The 10 year anniversary T-shirt is still in design mode, but is scheduled to be completed this coming week. Our on-field appearance began to take shape as the sponsor name plates and the red and blue alliance bumpers were completed.

Nemesis is looking forward to yet another great year of FIRST competition. See you on the Airship! Full Steam Ahead!

With two weeks remaining of Build Season 2017, all members of 2590 Nemesis found themselves in a mad dash to prepare for the looming competition season. Hot on the the heels of Sponsor Networking Night, the Marketing Team shifted priorities toward collectively collaborating on the Business Plan. Updating the plan to include the TEDx Talk at Joint Base Mcguire-Dix Lakehurst, Nemesis’ new Engineering Day, and the team's demonstration of Daedalus - the 2016 competition robot - at NAVAIR became the sub-team’s chief objective. Marketing also finished the designs for the team’s apparel from CustomInk. Going into Week 5, we eagerly await delivery.

Aligning with Week 4’s theme of dwindling time, Finance Team was in a rush to get the financial part of the Business Plan all together and in order. The pressure was alleviated by securing  sponsorships for which the team is extremely grateful. The Logistics Team spent the week finalizing travel information for this year’s exciting trip to Montreal.

Nemesis is ecstatic to continue its hard work for the remainder of Build Season and into the promising 2017 competition season.

Concluding Build Season’s fifth week indicates we are in the homestretch. Prototyping has come to an end, and with a finalized CAD, the Build Team is working together towards fabrication and assembly of both the practice and competition robots.

Major headway was made by the Fabrication and Design students. Night and day, hours have been poured into the machining of various parts, including the shooter, intake, climber, drivetrain, et cetera. With the drive base complete, the addition of bumpers to ensure safety is a priority.  

The Electrical Team’s schedule has been mainly comprised of testing each of the robot’s major functions. At this point, the wiring of both motors and sensors has been completed. One of this week’s Electrical successes is the practice bot’s mobility.  The Team’s new focus includes the shooter and intake functionality.

This week, the Software Team coded controls for shooting, and configured the beginning of the autonomous routine. With prototype testing complete, the Team’s focus was working on an algorithm that efficiently maximizes the robot’s mobility.  The Software team is ardently waiting to test on the competition bot.

With Build Season’s final week here, the entire team’s atmosphere reflects one of a community as members collectively work to finish the competition robot. Everyone is excited to see what our newest addition can do!

Heading into Week 4 of Build Season, the Marketing Team’s minds were all but fixed on one thing: Sponsor Networking Night. On Wednesday evening, we all waited anxiously  as our gracious sponsors and parents began to flood the halls. With everyone assigned a sponsor or parent, we spent the night showing them our hard work. In the hallways, we were proud to explain our amazing showcases, filled with awards, trophies and achievements. In the Tech Lab, the Build Team executives revealed this year’s game, FIRST Steamworks. Meanwhile, Marketing members gave an astounding presentation of our 2016 accomplishments. The event went flawlessly, with our sponsors and parents all left with smiles on their faces. Everyone on Nemesis was elated, but at the same time slightly disappointed, as we realized that our exciting and much-awaited Sponsor Networking night had come to a close.

With the end of Sponsor Networking Night came the beginning of preparation for the Competition Season. Our team began to finalize designs for our T-Shirts, both our annual shirt and our special edition 10th year anniversary shirt. Other Marketing members worked on perfecting the Chairman's and the Woodie Flowers Awards.

The Finance Team continued to innovate and improve on the Business Plan. They are also planning to take new members of the Marketing team to businesses to interact with local sponsors.

The Logistics Team worked on the Montreal Travel Presentation and gathering every team member's schedule to determine their competition availability.

As Build Season draws to an end, Nemesis cannot wait to compete in another season of FIRST Robotics action. We look forward to the final two weeks of this exhausting, yet rewarding, experience, and can’t wait for the season to start!

Deep in the thick of build season, Nemesis 2590 briefly halted prototyping, put down their tools, and took a collective break from the organized chaos of Build Season Week 3 to host their fifth annual Sponsor Networking Night.

Sponsor Networking Night is the best and most direct means of thanking and maintaining a thoroughly personal relationship with sponsors. Through presentations, personal interactions with team members, and hands-on demos, sponsors are offered penetrating insight into the inner workings of Nemesis.

The night began with Nemesis team members from all subteams greeting representatives and leading them into the Robbinsville High School (RHS) Technology Lab. Sponsors became increasingly intrigued as build executives Charlie D’Amico and Mariko McMurtry discussed the previous season’s successes before divulging information regarding the 2017 robot and the FIRST Steamworks game. Surprised by the game’s complexities, sponsors were extremely curious as to how Nemesis’s 2017 competition robot would tackle this fresh challenge. Answers did not have to wait, as sponsors freely questioned team members 1-on-1 between demonstrations.

Next, marketing executives in the adjacent Student Activities Center gave an overview of the team’s finances, competitive standings, and community outreach. During this presentation, Nemesis’ true nature shined through. 2016 produced the team’s most successful food drive yet, multiple competitive awards, and expanded the horizons of Nemesis influence. Operated as a high-tech business, Nemesis 2590’s marketing sector directly interacts with sponsors who essentially act as investors. However, instead of investing with the intention of monetary returns, sponsors reap the healthy profit of potential employees and a diverse, strong future STEM community.

Assemblymen, industry representatives, and parents marveled at the final presentation: a hands on operation of Daedalus, Nemesis' 2016 competition robot. “I think it’s awesome what’s going on here. It’s a near completely student-run organization and these students are doing things reminiscent of what’s actually being produced in the technology field,” brightly observed NAVAIR representative Colonel Cynthia Wong of the United States Air Force. Sponsors swerved, drifted and spun Daedalus across the Nemesis practice field, pausing only to ask questions or launch foam balls from the robot’s powerful shooter. Also found in the RHS commons was the programmable, dancing, walking, and talking NAO Robot as well as several Nemesis 2590 produced videos.

It’s been 10 years since Mrs. and Mr. Wolfe, an intensely dedicated group of students, and the RHS administration came together to form the Robbinsville Robotics Team, FRC 2590 Nemesis. In that time, Nemesis has won numerous awards and jumpstarted the careers of countless Robbinsville students. These accomplishments would have been rendered impossible without the generous and vital support of their sponsors. To them, Nemesis 2590 extends its sincerest gratitude.

Nemesis would like to give a special thanks to: Robbinsville High School, NAVAIR, CCL Label, DoDStem, Knowledgement, Nordson, Leidos, the Robbinsville Educator Association, Lockheed Martin, Sharbell Development Corp., the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Investors Bank, RAS, the Robbinsville Education Foundation, Triangle Copy, Skylink, Coldwell Banker, Northstar Vets, Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, Designtree, Siemens, SRI, McGraw Hill Financial, as well as all the Friends and Family of Nemesis.

With the build season approaching its climax, the team has kicked production into high gear to fabricate, test, and refine their design. Most team members are spending five to eight hours in the tech lab every day, tweaking elements of the design, testing and retesting each subsystem to build a machine of maximum efficiency. Prototyping has come to a close, and a final drivetrain has been manufactured.

While the Design Subteam finalizes the CAD, the other build members continue to build upon the practice bot. The team has also begun constructing the competition bot— the practice bot’s more polished, mechanically identical twin.

The different subsystem teams are ready for integration, after successful testing with wooden prototypes. The subteams are currently waiting on their parts to be machined and assembled on the practice bot for further trials.

Meanwhile, the Electrical Subteam continues to work on wiring new motors and sensors. The Software Team has started to code the drivetrain and the prospective subsystems in advance, and is eagerly awaiting the chance to test the code on the finished product.

As week 5 approaches, members buckle up and prepare to charge FULL STEAM AHEAD!

As the build season reaches its midpoint, the team reaches an all time high in productivity. With the design team coming to a final decision for the robot and the fabrication team starting to mill, router, and lathe the various parts, an image of the final product begins to take form. The drivetrain for the practice robot has been finished and dusted as our driver begins to practice driving. The electrical team is hard at work fulfilling all the needs from test boards for prototyping the electronics on the robot.

Prototyping teams are moving to finalize their designs for two shooters, a linear and a fly wheel. It’s a friendly competition within the team to see who finishes first! The intake and climber prototypes have been finalized after several successful runs of each to ensure maximum effectiveness.

After a few minor setbacks, the team worked as efficiently as possible to remain on schedule. As build season continues, our robot is coming closer and closer together, a trend we hope to continue moving into and through Week 4.

The 2017 build season is coming to a close, and Nemesis invites you to come to one of the high energy competitions it's competing at...

Hatboro-Horsham District FRC Event: March 4-5, 2017

Hatboro-Horsham High School

899 Horsham Rd, Horsham, PA 19044

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy District Event: March 18-19, 2017

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy

500 West Willow Grove Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19118

Festival de Robotique - Montreal Regional: March 23-25, 2017

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard

Montréal, QC, Canada

We hope to qualify for...

FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Championship: April 6-8, 2017

Stabler Arena, Lehigh University

124 Goodman Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015

2017 FIRST Championship: April 26 - 29, 2017

Edward Jones Dome

901 N Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63101

Chaotic and exciting are perfect ways to describe Week 3 of Build Season 2017. With Sponsor Networking Night just a few days away, Marketing Team members have had their work cut out for them! The showcases have been updated, and the Chairman’s Board is being redesigned to accommodate our ever-evolving team. The folders for Sponsor Networking Night are almost ready, as finishing touches are being made on the presentation and Executive Summary. Both members of the Marketing Team and the Build Team are refining their knowledge of the team’s FAQs, preparing to speak to sponsors on Wednesday night.

The Finance Team spent this past week speaking to current sponsors, potential sponsors, and local community businesses. The Finance Team is also comparing 2017’s financial projections with 2016’s actuals to help identify growth, in addition to continuing their updates to the Business Plan. Oh, and don’t forget about filing those taxes too!

The Logistics Team worked diligently to finalize all of our trips for the upcoming competition season, and we are especially excited to travel to Montreal for the Festival de Robotique.

With half of build season completed, everyone on Nemesis is bubbling with anticipation for the remaining weeks as well as the upcoming competition season!

During Week 2, the Build Team continued to spend their time prototyping in the Tech Lab.  As the second week of prototyping comes to an end the team made decisions about some the prototypes and finalized some designs. The CAD Team members started to recreate the finished prototype subsystems. The Build Team discussed how to best configure them on the robot.

Build Team members continued to debate strategy to determine the best course of action.

Several subteams were created to focus on different aspects of the game:

• The Gear Subteam continued to modify and finalize their design to obtain gears from the feeder stations and deliver then to the airship.

• The Shooter Subteam spent the week testing out two shooter prototypes for accuracy, speed, and consistency, and made the final decision about which design to use on the robot.

• The team that worked on the robot’s climbing mechanism decided on a final design that proved to be very successful in lifting a great amount of weight.

• The Intake Team has made several prototypes to collect fuel from the ground, hoppers, and feeder stations and continues to work on identifying the best solution.

This year’s robot is beginning to take shape. Everyone continues to put in their best efforts.  We anticipate finishing prototyping, continuing CADing throughout Week 3.