Come see our new robot, Atlas, in action this weekend, March 11-12 at Ponaganset High School in North Scituate, Rhode Island! The competition will run at 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 8:00–6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Details can be read here. 

We also have a second competition coming up on March 25-26 in Revere, MA. We’ll tell you more details soon!

The LigerBots have been hard at work throughout the build season, and we’re excited to share with you our progress so far!

We launched into the start of the season strong: throughout preseason, we worked hard on training our CAD team and our new members, with our CAD team working on making complex mechanisms like continuous elevators.

In addition to giving first-years CAD experience throughout preseason, we did a mock three-day design (3DD) prior to build season, where groups within the team created mock designs of robots.

After kickoff, build season officially began! We started with the actual three-day design process, where LigerBots students brainstormed and designed all the mechanisms for the robot this year.

Then, the CAD team set out to create sketches, and later in-depth models, of the mechanisms we planned for this year’s robot. Prototyping intake mechanisms also began during the first week.

During the second week, the CAD team delved deeper into the CADing process to finalize mechanism designs on OnShape, the mechanical team worked in the shop to test prototypes and manufacturing parts, and this year’s prospective drive team completed tryouts. We also began assembling the chassis—the base frame of the robot—and other mechanisms, some of which were designed during 3DD. We also finalized our swerve drive and superstructure frame, which holds up a pivot gearbox along with a rotating and telescoping arm—this design will allow the robot to reach high nodes and pick up both game pieces during competition.  

By week three of build season, we were able to fully build the chassis as well as create some mock swerve modules—which allow for smooth, controllable movement—that the drive team could practice with. The programming group also worked towards creating a working auto-leveling system for the charging station to ensure that the swerve drive and maneuver securely on and off the station.

The FIRST Impact Award team has also begun to finish up rough drafts for the award essay, executive summary, and the award video—all of which we will be presenting to FIRST judges. The marketing team has also prepared for a Women in STEM fair, held at Newton North this past Saturday, as well as creating team merchandise, the team booklet, and the competition pit banner.

As we approach the end of build season, we’re super excited to show off more of what we’ve been doing! Everyone has been in high gear throughout build season, and we’re looking forward to showcasing our hard work at our first event.

This a friendly reminder to consider helping the LigerBots through our NorWex fundraiser! For any proceeds made to NorWex, the LigerBots receive 25%. The fundraiser ends on February 20th.

As always, we’d like to acknowledge our sponsors for making possible our progress this build season: Rotary Club of Newton, Honda Village, Teradyne, PTC, Village Bank, Raytheon Missiles & Defence, Newton Schools Foundation, Newton Public Schools, Rockwell Automation, as well as the Cao, Chaudhury Karim, Franklin, King, Preston, Saitz, Sangiolio, Wang Ji, Schwartz, Nedeljkovic, and Housman Family. Your support is greatly appreciated! 

From now until February 20, if you buy a Norwex product using this link, we will receive 25% of the proceeds! By making a purchase through our Norwex Fundraiser, not only will you receive quality and eco-friendly cleaning products, but your support will also directly help us build our yearly robot, attend competitions, and promote STEAM participation in our community. No minimum purchase required. Thank you in advance for your support!

On Saturday, November 19, the LigerBots hosted the FLL Qualifier, a LEGO robotics tournament for middle and elementary schoolers. Eighteen teams of younger students from throughout Massachusetts came to compete in fun, fast-paced matches refereed by LigerBots students. The sound of the MC announcing the matches over the background music, a sea of colorful custom T-shirts, and LEGOs scattered throughout the school—this was the scene of the event, which was almost back in full swing after losing momentum from the pandemic.

Running alongside the Newton FLL Qualifier, the annual LigerBots STEAM expo was a huge success! LigerBots offered eight hands-on activities, and there were several outside exhibitors, including the Massachusetts National Guard, Green Newton, and Johnson String Instrument, as well as high school groups such as the NNHS Programming club, NNHS STEMentors, NSHS Science team, and NSHS Women in STEM. More than 100 kids engaged in a variety of STEAM activities and demonstrations. Among the LigerBots activities, approximately 100 binary bracelets, 100 balloon cars, 100 origami double pyramids and tangrams, 50 cups of slime, 20 solar ovens, and more than 100 custom buttons were made.

NNTV, Newton North’s student-run television station, interviewed several LigerBots and FLL students during the event. Team member Kavin talked about the little moments that made the LigerBots fun for him, like playing soccer with fellow team members. With teammates Kevin and Roshan, Kavin also talked to NNTV about LigerBots’ core values and a basic rundown of FLL and the STEAM Expo. Despite his now sore throat, Kavin had an awesome time giving his thoughts!

The event ended with an awards ceremony and a dance party. Awards in several categories were given out. The five finalists were the Goofy Gyros (Champion’s Award Winner) from Ashland, Mechanical Madness (Champion’s Award Runner-up) from North Attleboro, Team Arrow from Canton, the Green Gearticks from Lincoln, and the Exploding Bananas from Lexington. Congratulations to these students, who will move on to the Massachusetts FLL Championship, at WPI, in the next round.

Of the 18 participating teams, five were from Newton: the Hawks, the Cookie Coders, Team Voltage, the Newton Nanobots, and the Tie-Dye Chickens. The Cookie Coders won second place in the Core Values judging and Team Voltage won the Rising All-Star award.

On November 6, The LigerBots unveiled two pumpkin-smashing machines for Newton’s annual Pumpkin Smash, an event at City Hall that encourages residents to compost their pumpkins in the best way possible—by throwing, tossing, or crushing them!

Both machines featured massive sledgehammers to obliterate pumpkins, though with slightly-different mechanisms: the first utilized our 2020 robot pulling a rope to trigger its sledgehammer, and the second used balls thrown from our 2022 robot to push its hammer down.

LigerBots students worked tirelessly the past few weeks to design and build the machines. With the guidance of veteran members, first-years learned essential skills in design, prototyping, CAD (computer-aided design), and manufacturing to create the pumpkin-smashing mechanisms.

Alongside destroying hundreds of pumpkins, the LigerBots also led a booth for children with hands-on STEAM activities, including our popular binary beads and origami activities.

After the event, the crushed pumpkins were composted by Black Earth Compost to nourish the city’s soil. An estimated 750 to 1,000 Newton residents attended the event, making it a smashing success!   

On Monday, November 7, we launched our annual Mock Three-Day Design process, an activity that brings first-years, veterans, and mentors into the engineering process in preparation for kick off in January. Over three Mondays, design groups will brainstorm, negotiate, organize, and present ideas in robot mechanisms that will help the team during competition season. We can’t wait to see what groups will come up with!

All team members not involved in Mock Three-Day Design are currently preparing for the upcoming FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Newton Qualifier, a LEGO robotics tournament for elementary and middle schoolers. We invite you to come cheer on local FLL teams at this year’s event, which will be on November 19 at Newton North. A STEAM Expo, featuring hands-on science activities for children, will also be hosted. Read here for more information about FLL.

LigerBots continues going strong in team training and fall projects. Engineering students—including many first-years—are upgrading our drivetrain (the mechanism a robot uses to propel itself) to increase freedom on the field and improve modularity compared to past drivetrains. New programming students are beginning to use Java to help program this drivetrain. In the CAD group, first-years are learning basic CAD skills in preparation for a CADathon—a short, collaborative CAD event—over Thanksgiving break. Marketing students are working on contacting clubs and companies to promote our upcoming FLL STEAM Expo, which will happen concurrently with the FLL Tournament. And, in the graphics group, students are developing visual materials for the upcoming First Lego League tournament, including a STEAM flyer for a DIY gimbal activity.

Finally, an exciting announcement—for the entirety of November, the LigerBots’ accomplishments are on display at the Newton Free Library! Come see our two displays, located next to the main desk on the first floor. Thanks to the graphics group for designing the displays! Read our announcement here.

For the month of November, the LigerBots’ achievements will be proudly showcased at the Newton Free Library. The two display cases, featuring the LigerBots’ accomplishments in both FIRST Robotics and community outreach, are located next to the main desk on the first floor. A big thanks to the graphics group, led by graphics director Emily and mentor Diane Levy, for creating such beautiful displays!