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The Churrobots, the Hope Horizon robotics team from East Palo Alto, were part of the winning alliance at the Silicon Valley Regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on March 3, and despite many obstacles, managed to qualify for the world championship in Houston; however, they need to raise $40,000 for their trip.
Obstacles such as bumper issues, the lead student driving the robot being ill, and a lower ranking that did not reflect their actual performance were not enough to stop them and the Churrobots managed to remain competitive.
Having qualified for the world championship for the first time, the Churrobots need to raise $40,000 for their trip to Houston from April 17 to 20.
Angel Fernandez, head of the electrical sub-team, is delighted with this opportunity. “When I first joined this team, I wasn’t too sure. I was thrown into wiring on my first day and was intimidated to jump right in, but then it was great to see how it all worked,” he said.
“I certainly never imagined going to the Worlds.”
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The Churrobots are a community team based in East Palo Alto that draws students from over 10 different schools, as East Palo Alto does not have a full high school.
The vast majority of students will be first-generation college students, and many alumni have already gone on to study engineering fields at schools such as the University of Michigan, Harvey Mudd and UC Davis.
The team started in 2019 with two highly motivated students who wanted to continue their experience after graduating to the FIRST Lego League team. The Churrobots use one of their coaches' garage as a workshop where they design and build an industrial-sized semi-autonomous robot over the course of six weeks.
Head coach Greg Corsetto believes the World Championships will be an important milestone in the lives of his students.
“I think the whole experience there will mean a lot to them and really encourage them in their professional careers or in their future goals beyond high school,” Corsetto said.
“This year, we attempted our most complex robot yet, in terms of functionality and skills in the field to score. The students have really been able to raise their level and follow the entire process, from design to construction, through testing and troubleshooting,” he said, acknowledging significant growth of the team in recent years.
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The team is made up of students and adult mentors, and also has strong family support.
“Not only are families helping their students juggle schoolwork and robotics, but families have stepped up to support the team by providing meals and planning celebrations. This effort has helped spread the workload normally shouldered by coaches and families have taken on a greater role in the team,” Corsetto said.
In the FRC competition, teams are seeded using a round-robin format, and then teams form alliances of three to compete in playoffs. During the Silicon Valley Regional, the Churrobots (Team 8048) were joined by the Number 1 Alliance led by the Blazing Bulldogs from San Jose High School (Team 581) and Citrus Circuits from Davis, CA (Team 1678).
The Churrobots need support, and supporters can visit the site to help: https://hopehorizonepa.kindful.com/?campaign=1292995 to achieve his dream of competing in Houston and bringing the cup home.
Hope Horizon is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible. You can also follow the Churrobots on their Instagram page @churrobots.8048.
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