A Shared Victory on Einstein

[MasonMM]

I joined The Robonauts in 2002 and winning a World Championship is one of the most, if not the most unbelievable experience I’ve had since then. It’s something we have been chasing. We are driven by the experience of competition and it is our number one tool and developing young minds to be inspired by science and engineering. Typically I keep my opinions close to my chest, but I’ve been overwhelmed with emotions this week that I feel I have to give some recognition publically. We have a tradition of making shout-outs to those that have worked hard. Consider this my long, rambling shout-out.

First off, I want to recognize my incredible team. In a year that involved moving shops, was full of last minute robot iterations, and had plenty of reasons to throw in the towel, this team of students, mentors, school sponsors, and parents stayed the course and never showed discouragement. In the face of adversity and engineering obstacles, this team persevered and never-ever-not-once stopped working full steam at the problem for four long months.

Because of them, I have one of the easiest roles at a competition. Each step in our process was critical for our World Champion run. Each person focused on their task, which overburdened no one, but allowed the team to do incredible things. As the on-field coach, I had the unique pleasure of watching this magic happen each and every match from beginning to end.

-Before and after every match Logan Farrell, Anthony Lapp, and Cuando (our student Chief Engineer) led our pit crew through an exhausting test of the robot’s function. No matter how beat up or torn up Empire might be, this crew swiftly and calmly restored our robot to full functionality every single time. When Empire started entering zombie mode on the field and presenting connection problems, Ross, Jodi, Bill, and ChrisP diligently troubleshot every line of code to find the error while Gavin and Katie swapped the roboRio and Driver Station. This pit crew had everything thrown at them this season and even through the excitement and stress of Einstein delivered a perfect robot to the drive team each and every time.

-Scouting Captains Marcus and Buvi ran a tight ship in the stands diligently gathering data and delivering complete information to the strategy team before every match. Mitch had next level data visualization at the list making session on Friday night. Ethan sprinted around the convention center and competition fields capturing high-speed video of almost all of Newton’s can grabbers. Our scouting team is almost entirely student run and this team is integral to our on-field success.

-The strategy group led by our Strategist Romil and Justin Ridley were unparalleled by anything I’ve seen before. After every single match we watched video of Empire, debriefed with the drivers on where to make improvements, and with scouting data, launched into the plan for the next match. Each member of this group took responsibility and action which allowed us to split up and talk to everyone playing in our match about co-op, noodles, human players, auton plans, and scoring zones. We never played a match without everyone on the field knowing the plan and the backup plan, and I think that showed in our results.

-I’ve had the pleasure of coaching extremely talented drivers as the Robonaut’s on-field coach the last five year, and this year’s flight team is no exception. Kevin took his role as human player seriously and reliably did everything that was asked of him this season… and we asked him to do everything. He came to the table with new techniques and sought continuous improvements including being an expert noodle thrower, tote karate chopper, noodle into scored stack stabber, tote dragger, penalty avoider, tote prepper, and coach to all other human players. Danielle, our copilot/team captain, and ChrisP, the best one-eyed driver FRC has ever seen, were an unstoppable unit. They had the upmost commitment to training five days a week all competition season long. They found ways to get better every single day. They made Empire do things I could never imagine were possible. They could not be phased by anything… even zombie mode or a can stuck to the top of the robot on Einstein. Danielle grew into a role as a second coach and by the end, beat me to the punch on where to go next and what to watch out for on the field. By the end, these three could coach themselves and play the game at the highest level just fine. Every drive coaches dream.

-This whole system finds its origins, spirit, energy and attitude from our head coach Lucien Junkin. Without his input and oversight, The Robonauts could never be the team we are today. He is by far the most unique, upright, incredible, and genius people I’ve ever worked with. He brings out the best in everyone he works alongside.



There are so many more people who make the program we run possible that I need to thank.

- Johnson Space Center for allowing us to set up shop in middle of a professional robotics lab / astronaut training facility.

-Luis Medina, Candice Campanelli, and Clear Creek Independent School District for making robotics education a priority at all grade levels.

-All of the Robonaut mentors, students, parents, and alumni from the last 19 years who all played a role in building this epic program.



Outside of our team, I want to give a lot of the credit to this big win to 1678. Steve, Mike, and crew are running a class act of a team. Working with the Citrus Circuits at the Sacramento regional this year left a lasting memory in my mind. I never fathomed getting to do it again on an even bigger stage. I’m so excited that you were our partners on Einstein. Having a joint scouting meeting on Friday night was a highlight, it’s not often to get to work behind the scenes with another team. Mike, it was an honor to coach next to you and learn what it means to bring real energy and enthusiasm behind the glass.

1671 was a rock. They built two stacks every single match of our playoff runs. 118 and 1678 dropped cans, but 1671 was always perfect. They were the allstar of the world championship alliance. Our teams became friends at Sacramento and playing with friends is always the best.

5012 was part of our cold war strategy. We had the underground nuclear weapon cheesecake waiting in the wings, two arms donated from 118, two arms donated from 1678. Even though we never played them, they were a great team and asset to the alliance.


We couldn’t have had the season we had without all the relationships of the #TeamTexas. Winning two regionals with 624 was unbelievable, I really feel we bring the best out of each other and get better the more we work together. All of the Houston teams, including The Robonauts, get better every time we have a joint practice session together. To John, James, Jay, George, and crew up in Greeneville, you guys force us to push ourselves more and more every year. Your robot was scary good this year and playing against you brings out our best as we step up to the challenge.


The field side staff and technical support was flawless on the practice, Newton, and Einstein fields. The Newton head referee and her crew were fair, firm, but extremely courteous in all interactions with our team. The FTA’s held a strong belief that no robot would be left behind and bypassed on the field. Mark Koors and the bearded-kilt-wearing-FTA-who’s-name-I-never-caught were absolutely fantastic with their capacity to accept delay and troubleshoot our repeated connection issues. When Empire started mysteriously entering zombie mode during matches, the NI support crew flooded our pit to help and checked in all weekend long. When Empire had connection and zombie-mode problems on Einstein, Mike Copioli, Omar, and many other “orange hats” were determined to find a solution. Even the crew at the practice field were taking their best shots at helping clear up our connection issues. The volunteer crews made The Robonauts’ team experience was phenomenal. FRC will be on the right track if these folks share their philosophy with volunteers everywhere.


Lastly, to all of the community members who came up to me, my team, or posted online and gave a congratulations, THANK YOU. All the nice things folks have said about The Robonauts is unfathomable. To hear so many team leaders, mentors, and engineers that I have admired for years give team 118 words of praise has left me speechless. I can’t accurately describe what it has meant to me other than that it has meant the world to me.