The LigerBots will be holding their annual Open House for new members this Thursday, Oct 9, starting at 7 PM. It will be held in the Newton South High School Wood Shop, Rm 9170.  Students from Newton North and Newton South are invited to attend and learn what the team is about.

On October 18th, Ligerbots hosted Robocon, an event in Cambridge where different FRC teams and other roboticists team up and present the challenges of robotics. Over half a dozen FRC teams attended and presented on subjects such as localization, AI, and programming challenges. Well over a dozen ligerbots attended the event.

A trebuchet designed by ligerbots team members for an activity

One of the challenges proposed involved building a lego catapult to launch a projectile into a series of rings. The Ligerbots excelled at this, having a good time and helping others with their work.

One of the challenges proposed involved building a lego catapult to launch a projectile into a series of rings. The ligerbots delivered on this (Idk what the score was, I need to add that)

Members of FRC team 2079 deliver a presentation

Robocon also held many interesting presentations, including one from members of FRC team 2079 on how a small robot helped them keep trainees engaged and grow their programming team.

All in all, Robocon was a great event. According to Gregory, the event “had a lot of interesting talks, and the lego activity was fun.” 

Stay posted for the FLL Scrimmage and FLL Qualifier on November 10th and November 22nd respectively!

On Saturday, September 20th, roughly 15 LigerBot team members attended and competed in an off-season competition at Melrose High school. Fifteen FRC teams attended, competing in a series of qualification matches throughout the day. Team member Sarah H. exclaimed that “This event was such a unique styled event that brought great connections across New England”.

Our 2025 Reefscape robot, Hydra, during a match. 

We had a super great time when we played last season’s game called Reefscape. Reefscape was modeled as a solution to saving the marine ecosystem. Teams were tasked with developing robots capable of picking up coral through an intake and transporting it to the reef in the middle of the field to score a point. Teams also developed an algae intake to transport algae to the central barge, scoring by either tossing the algae into the net, or into an algae processor so that the other alliance could score a point by tossing it into the net. During the endgame, robots raced to a hanging cage to lift their robots off the ground.  

Robots hanging off the deep cage at the end of the match. 

We were in alliance 3, with Team 1058, the PVC Pirates, Team 6328, Mechanical Advantage, and Team 4909, the Bionics. Overall we ranked third!. 

LigerBot members carrying Hydra, from the field.

It was a great experience for our new team members, it helped them to gain experience before the competition season starts. Competitions are usually full- day events that consist of field matches. Team members get a feel for how the game works, and the overall vibe of a competition. It is also a great opportunity for members to try new roles like pit crew or driver.

Pit Crew working on the robot. 

Overall, it was a highly successful competition that allowed new team members to gain more competition experience before the busy build and competition season starts in January. 

Our next events to look out for are the FLL Scrimmage (November 10th) and Qualifier (November 22nd) at Newton North High School. Feel free to stop by and check out what’s going on!

Welcome our new Execs with us! Check our Instagram to see the full post.

A Productive Summer for the LigerBots!

Over Summer ‘25, the LigerBots were busy. We participated in the LigerBots Adaptive Engineering Internship program, hosted a CAD training program, and co-lead the LigerBoxes summer camp with Newton Community Education. 

Students research and brainstorm on their project

15 Newton teens spent much of their summer participating in the LigerBots Adaptive Engineering Internship program at Newton North. Throughout the program, students worked in small teams to engineer adaptive devices for people with disabilities. In just eight weeks (June 30th – August 22nd), students conducted research, designed their product, made a prototype, and tested their device to deliver successful (and life-changing) products to their clients.  They achieved all of this with no prior knowledge but a keen interest to innovate.

One group of clients were children at the New England Pediatric center who have severe cognitive disabilities. A team of 4 students designed a foldable display with multiple panels that light up in different colors and patterns. The device allows children to engage in cause-and-effect play together using adaptive switches tailored to each child’s abilities. Another client is blind and wanted help avoiding obstacles such as trees and low doorways so a 5-student team designed a working system using a time-of-flight sensor, overcoming many technical setbacks such as their ultrasonic sensor proving inadequate for the job. Their last client was Selim, a young man with muscular dystrophy who struggles to pick up dropped items. To solve the problem, the students developed an innovative grabber using a latex balloon filled with coffee grounds that becomes rigid when air is evacuated, allowing it to conform to and grip objects of various shapes and sizes.

The internship was a big success, as teams gave people with disabilities technological solutions to have a better quality of life.

LigerBots students learning about CAD software

Coaches Igor and Elliot led a Saturday CAD training program to teach fellow LigerBot team members how to use the product development software. Over the course of these training sessions, every teen gained a great understanding of the software, which no doubt will help the team go further in the upcoming tournaments. One student even said that the training was “pretty lit”.

Robotic hands project done at the LigerBoxes summer camp

LigerBots isn’t just for high schoolers! In a partnership with Newton Community Education, we hosted a week-long summer camp. Teammates Stephen, Galia, and Ella taught their 12 campers in STEAM concepts with projects like the Robotic Hands, which taught students about technology, Coke and Mentos, which taught students about science, and other hands-on projects that taught students many other important values. Coach Greer said “The summer camp was great, I’m so glad we helped kids learn and love science over the summer”.

The LigerBots are just getting started, and we’re running full steam ahead into the fall!