Two weeks until ship day! We are finishing up R1 and driving and testing it to make sure everything is operational. We have been working hard and eagerly awaiting week one competitions!

Week four has arrived and we are continuing to cut, grind and test! We are all working very hard to complete our prototype robot (R1) so we can practice driving and shooting as we work to complete our game robot (R2). We are very excited and eagerly awaiting competition day!

We are two thirds of the way until we are halfway done! We have been working hard on our decision making and have finally made our decision! We will be assembling a prototype robot, called R1, to work out any kinks we  have and also to have a working robot to practice with. We will then move on to complete our final competition robot, R2. We are very eagerly awaiting the competitions to start! Let the games begin!

Week two has come! Cyber Blue has been working on many things these past few days. We have built a field complete with goals and a middle barrier. We have been practicing shooting the ball from different heights and angles. We have also been bringing our brainstorming ideas to life and testing them on the field. We are awaiting our final decision on the design with continuing to go through different testing and practice.

We began our week with the FIRST kick off at IUPUI. We are all very excited about the new game and have been eagerly strategizing as a team. We have also been thoroughly examining the rule book to make sure we fully understand the game and how it works. We have also started to brainstorm different designs by getting in smaller groups, each designing a specific robot, and then presenting our ideas to the rest of the team. We then take notes on specific things that most groups have all had in common then we, as a team, discuss the best option. We are excited to finally be in our first week of build season and cannot wait for the games to begin!

On Friday December 9th, we had our third annual lock-in. We stayed in our school from 9:00 pm until 7:00 am, and held many weird but fun team bonding games and competitions. We had fun playing Capture the Flag and having a NERF Gun war, as well as having relay races and performing improvised skits based off of a given topic. It was a long and tiring 10 hours full of fun, food, and friends!

On Wednesday, November 9, some representatives of the TechPoint Foundation held their board meeting at Perry Meridian High School and took a tour of our robotics lab. The foundation is excited to support Indiana teams and Indiana FIRST overall. All of the guests were very impressed by not only our program but FIRST overall and what robotics is doing for science and technology fields, and for the future of the workforce.

Cyber Blue was honored at the school board meeting for our achievements with our robot “Lefty” that threw the opening pitch at our local Indianapolis Indians baseball game. Our mentor Kevin Kelly was also recognized and honored for his achievement by winning a regional Woodie Flowers award. These were proud moments for our township and Cyber Blue as well.

Cyber Blue partnered with FIRST team 292 Panthertech and FIRST team 3180 Blaise of Glory to win the CAGE match October 15th.  Hosted by teams 1529, the Cyber Cards, and 829,the Digital Goats, this event is mainly focused on introducing new members, mentors, and the community to FIRST. It was good to see rookie teams getting a feel for competition, and it gave us a last chance to compete with our Logo Motion robots.

Are you ready for one of the best off season events in FIRST Robotics? Cyber Blue is! Come watch Cyber Blue and many more teams face off in this awesome event! The date has been set for July 22 and 23rd at Lawrence North High School. Invite your friends and family to watch and cheer us on as we compete!