Mentors, alumni, and students alike met up at The Woodlands College Park High School early Saturday morning for the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff. This much-anticipated webcast revealed the year’s challenge and marked the beginning of the 2015 FRC season.

The game for this season is Recycle Rush, in which two teams of three robots compete to stack Totes on Scoring Platforms, place Recycling Containers over those Totes, and place pool noodle Litter in either the Recycling Containers or in the Landfill Area during the Teleop Period. Additionally, robots can attempt to move Yellow Totes (which may be stacked for extra points), Recycling Containers, and themselves into the Auto Zone during the Autonomous Period. The following video released by FIRST further explains the challenge.

Following the exciting webcast, Texas Torque members spent the day brainstorming and getting a feel for the new game. Students collaborated with mentors and alumni to devise strategies to overcome Recycle Rush’s unique challenges and to think up possible designs. For the next six weeks, team members will work to design, prototype, and construct a new robot for the season before the seven week competition season begins.

Texas Torque wishes all teams the best of luck and to have fun this season!