On Saturday, February 22nd, the Janksters hosted their annual Robot Reveal Night to showcase the robot the team had just six weeks to brainstorm, prototype, and build for this year’s challenge. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an innovative program that encourages kids to pursue knowledge and skills in STEM, released a new challenge (Infinite Recharge) to their FRC (First Robotics Competition) teams on January 4, kicking off the 2020 Build Season. Robot Reveal Night allowed team members to present their achievements in front of parents, mentors, sponsors and guests. All eyes were on the robot as it made its way down the aisle in JB Hall. 

INFINITE RECHARGE is part of the 2020 FIRST season, FIRST RISE, powered by Star Wars: Force for Change. FIRST has teamed up with Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as part of the Star Wars: Force for Change philanthropic initiative to inspire the next generation of heroes and innovators, creating a place where collaboration and collective wisdom can elevate new ideas and foster growth. FIRST RISE empowers FIRST participants to explore the future of cities and architecture, building communities filled with inspiration, creativity, and – most importantly – hope.

In INFINITE RECHARGESM, two alliances work to protect FIRST City from approaching asteroids caused by a distant space skirmish. Each Alliance, along with their trusty droids, race to collect and score Power Cells in order to energize their Shield Generator for maximum protection. To activate stages of the Shield Generator, droids manipulate their Control Panels after scoring a specific number of Power Cells. Near the end of the match, droids race to their Rendezvous Point to get their Shield Generator operational in order to protect the city!

The night started out with a student-run presentation detailing the build season process from “kick-off” to “bag and tag.” The different committees presented their goals and highlights and then the robot was revealed to an excited crowd.

The ND community is invited to see Team 1967 compete at San Jose State University from April 1-4 as they compete in the Silicon Valley Regional competition.