What we’re aiming at this rookie year — not a wish list, a work order.
Show up ready. Put a reliable robot on the field and keep cycling all match.
Design, cut, wire, and code it ourselves — then fix what breaks until it doesn’t.
Bring in more builders and mentors, and leave the next season better than we found it.
Teach younger kids and help new teams through the parts of a first season nobody warns you about.
Mecanum wheels, a soft-wheel intake, a two-stage lift, and camera-guided scoring. Built to keep cycling all match.
Left and right slide sideways instead of turning. That’s what mecanum wheels do. Hold shift to spin.
Reset positionThirty seconds, no driver. Drag the slider to step through it.
Every season has a new field and new ways to score. Details go here once it's announced.
Everything on this page is a first. That's the whole point of a rookie season.
Every kid who has driven the robot, wired a motor, or asked us why it keeps stalling.
Workshops, assemblies, and after-school blocks across nine campuses since September.
Teams we sit with week to week, from first build to their first qualifier.
One van, five people, and the same load-out every time. Nothing here needs a projector.
MOP-9000, with the intake guard on and a spare battery in the crate.
Half a field of tiles, taped lines, and a bin of game pieces.
So nobody waits more than a minute for a turn.
Anyone touching the robot gets a pair. No exceptions.
Fifty feet of it, because the outlet is never where you want it.
Kids wire it, code it, and drive it. Usually into a wall first.
12 / yearWe sit in on build sessions with new teams and answer the questions we had last year.
4 teamsAssembly demos for younger students, with the robot doing laps behind us.
9 schoolsLibrary nights, street fairs, and maker festivals around the city.
6 / yearLibrary nights and weekend drive-the-robot sessions.
After-school blocks at two campuses, six weeks each.
Maker festivals and the district STEM night.
Four teams across the city that we coach through the season.
We bring the robot, the practice field, and enough controllers that nobody waits long. An hour is usually enough.
Sponsors pay for our parts, our tools, and the bus. Your logo goes on the robot, the shirts, and right here.
Two captains, four leads, two coaches. Everyone owns a piece of the robot.
From a young age, I’ve always asked myself, “What problem can I solve?” That question led me to start coding in 3rd grade, where I fell in love with it while making Python Turtle projects with my dad teaching me what a function was. That core memory eventually inspired me to learn 4 more languages while joining FLL in 3rd grade and FTC at Team X in 6th grade, where over four years I developed strong programming foundations, learned good practices in robotics, contributed to outreach, and served as a driver every year, even making it to regionals, followed by one year of FRC on Team 7419. I love robotics because it combines programming, problem-solving, teamwork, and the opportunity to turn ideas into something that can make an impact. I hope to build on my skills and contribute as a programmer, driver, and team member wherever I’m needed to help take this team to great success at worlds in Houston. One line of code, practice scrim, and night alongside my teammates at a time.
My passion for engineering started with LEGOs, driven by an early desire to bring static builds to life using motors, microcontrollers, and code. Over the past six years, that curiosity has evolved into extensive hands-on experience across FIRST competitions and custom Arduino projects. Through countless cycles of CAD design, rapid prototyping, and precision fabrication, I have developed strong electromechanical intuition alongside practical experience in team budgeting and resource management. As a Team Captain, I combine this technical depth with organized leadership to ensure our build season is both structurally sound and fiscally strategic. I'm focused on streamlining our engineering workflow, pushing our competitive limits, and leading the team to a dominant World Championship run.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Runs the shop, signs off on every cut, and teaches the machining we did not know how to do in September.
Reviews our code, keeps the meeting calendar, and connects us with the schools and sponsors we work with.
How we got from a whiteboard sketch to a robot that mostly works, including the parts we got wrong twice. This is the short version of our notebook.
Problem — Started with a six-wheel tank drive. It was simple but we lost every pushing match in practice and could not line up on the scoring position.
Change — Switched to four-motor mecanum. We gave up some pushing power for the ability to strafe into place.
Problem — First intake used rigid 3D-printed rollers. They either missed the game piece or jammed it against the frame.
Change — Moved to compliant wheels at 45A durometer. They deform around the piece, so approach angle stopped mattering.
Problem — A single-stage slide could not reach the top scoring level without making the robot too tall to start.
Change — Went to a two-stage cascade slide. Same start height, twice the reach, about 80 g heavier.
Problem — Dead-reckoning autos drifted a few centimetres per run and missed by the fourth cycle.
Change — Added AprilTag localisation to correct position at the start of each path. Reliability went from about 60% to 94%.
Safety glasses are worn by everyone in the shop, no exceptions, including visitors.
Only members who have been checked out on a tool may use it, and never alone in the shop.
Batteries are charged on a fireproof mat, never left overnight, and inspected before every match.
Robot is powered down and the battery is disconnected before anyone reaches inside it.
We need builders, coders, designers, and someone who actually enjoys writing. No experience needed — most of us had none. You can also reach out anytime at janitorsftcteam@googlegroups.com.
Fill out the questions below to apply! Prefer to talk first? Email us at janitorsftcteam@googlegroups.com or hop into Discord.