Week 7 - Entering a new era
With just a week before our first competition all sub-teams have been working diligently to prepare for Half-Moon Bay District.
Hardware Design
Over the past week, the Hardware Design team integrated feedback from the Citrus Invitational and recent testing to bring Beta to competition level. Every mechanism has been updated to improve efficiency and reduce weight. The team has also started collaborating with the Software Robot subteam to finalize coding. In the next week, they plan to make final adjustments to the robot’s expanding hopper.
Hardware Fabrication
The Hardware Fabrication subteam completed the parts for Gamma, excluding the remade hopper and sponsor panels, and continued to refine and produce updated parts for Beta.
Hardware Electrical
Electrical completed the wiring for Gamma and worked on adjusting the competition wiring. They also addressed some unforeseen issues, including the addition of a fan to the motorized hub counter, a field element, to prevent overheating and clogging.
Software robot
The Software Robot subteam focused on refining autonomous routines and optimizing shot accuracy for Comp. They also began preparing to program the software for Gamma.
software scouting
The Front-End team worked on refining the User Interface of the viewer screen in the app. They revamped the data point selection system and developed a dedicated page for SEALS. Additionally, they’ve been working on miscellaneous preparations, such as packing, for Half Moon Bay.
The Back-End team focused on testing and visualizing fuel estimation data. They also made improvements to both our subjective and stand scouting systems, ensuring all data is accurate and up-to-date.
business and media
strategy
The Business and Media subteam has been focused on preparations for the Robot Reveal Night, storyboarding the reveal video, and curating tour guides for the shop. Over the weekend, they successfully distributed the 2026 season team shirts. They also updated the sponsor panels on the robot, making sure everything looks polished for the event.
This week, Strategy finalized the match strategies that will be used at competition and completed pre-scouting data collection for teams attending the Half Moon Bay District event. They are now preparing to analyze robot reveals and will be gathering final insights on competitors to ensure optimal performance during the event.
impact award
Impact Award members have been compiling all necessary team documentation for submission. The documents will be placed in a physical binder that will travel with the team to each competition. Presenters have also dedicated significant time to rehearsals to ensure their Q&A responses are precise, and the script is well-prepared.
Week 6 - Fueling up
It's the sixth week of the build season, and our team is hard at work! Our team is finalizing and implementing on both our Competition and Beta robots as we prepare for our first competition.
Hardware Design
Hardware Design has spent the last week assembling our competition robot with a revised ball path and new material to stay under the weight limit. They also tested the robot’s ability to climb, intake, and score efficiently to determine the robot’s readiness for the upcoming regional.
Hardware Fabrication
Fabrication finished fabricating parts for Comp and is 57.43% done with creating updated parts for Beta. They also finished fabricating the sponsor panel for Comp.
Hardware Electrical
This week, Electrical wired the LEDs, CANdle, and CANrange for our robot. They also finished wiring our new batteries and the hub fuel counter, and they added a new beam break sensor to the hub fuel counter.
Software robot
Software Robot continued developing automations for controls on Comp, worked on our autonomous routines, and supported testing design revisions on the robot.
software scouting
Software Scouting Front-End fixed bugs and made UI improvements for the Match Collection app. They also added a new page in Viewer for viewing tags from Strand Strategist and held scout training in preparation for our first District Event, Half Moon Bay.
Back-End worked on testing every calculation with Week 0 scouting data and creating fallback algorithms for fuel estimation. They are currently focusing on extensive testing to produce a reliable and robust system for the Half Moon Bay competition.
business and media
strategy
impact award
With competition season approaching, Business and Media prepared for Robot Reveal Night and the robot reveal video and worked on the Impact Award video. They also finished and sent out the February newsletter and completed the sponsor panel, which will display top Citrus Circuits sponsors on the robot.
Strategy has been pre-scouting teams that will be attending the Half Moon Bay District Event. With only 2 weeks until the event, they finalized teleop strategies that will account for alliance compositions and capabilities. Additionally, they have been analyzing the recent Week 0 events in order to get a better understanding of match flow and to see how teams may be performing at our first event.
In preparation for their presentation at Half Moon Bay, Impact Award worked on documentation, finished the Impact Video, and refined their presentation. They also had their second parent panel this week.
Week 5 - Bringing the Pieces Together
Welcome back to the weekly Build Blog! As our first competition, CA District Half Moon Bay Event, approaches, our team has finally shifted beyond early prototyping and has started refining designs for our competition robot.
Hardware Design
The Design subteam focused on modeling and assembling our competition robot. By applying what they learned from the Beta robot and from practice sessions, they made major improvements across nearly every mechanism to create a more competitive and reliable design. Over the coming week, they will continue testing and refining the robot in preparation for the Citrus Invitational
Hardware Fabrication
As the competition deadline continues to approach, Fabrication has received a large release of finalized parts from Design across multiple systems. They focused on producing the remaining shooter components and completing all outstanding parts for our competition robot.
Hardware Electrical
The Electrical subteam completed major wiring tasks on the competition robot, which included wiring the bellypan, climber, and new batteries, as well as continuing work on the hub fuel counter and LEDs.
Software robot
Software Robot continued improving automation and driver controls on the Beta robot this week. They also began to run and refine autonomous routines, work on robot detection, and prepare their software systems for our competition robot.
software scouting
The Software Scouting Front-End subteam fixed bugs from their field test last week and continued adjusting their Match Collection and Viewer user interface. They ran another field test this week, testing their system by scouting matches from 2017, which similarly featured a large volume of game pieces.
Using data collected from the full system field test, Software Scouting Back-End began working on more complex calculations, including a fuel score estimator and cross-app tagging system.
business and media
strategy
Business and Media has been supporting the team through sponsor recognition posts, website updates, and the creation of the 10 Years on Einstein jersey. They have also been assisting with our robot bumpers, pressing “1678” onto the competition robot’s bumper, and preparing for Robot Reveal Night by writing shop tour scripts and addressing audio and visual issues from last year’s event.
The Strategy subteam spent the week simulating autonomous paths for the upcoming Half Moon Bay District Event. These simulations accounted for varying alliance compositions, qualification versus playoff scenarios, and whether winning or intentionally losing the autonomous period would best determine the ordering of active and inactive shifts during teleop. The team will begin drafting teleop strategies and start analyzing Week 0 events and team robot reveals as they are released.
impact award
Impact Award finally submitted their executive summary and essay. They are continuing to work on the Impact Award video and documentation and just finished their first parent panel. In the next couple of weeks, they plan on memorizing and generally bettering the presentation.
Week 4 - Unearthing Something Special
Welcome back to the fourth week of build season! This week, our team finished assembling Beta and started designing our competition robot.
Hardware Design
With the Beta robot now running, the Hardware Design subteam has started testing and learning from the robot's strengths and weaknesses to develop the next iteration. Since then, Design started fixing Beta while modeling and assembling the Comp robot, a new version designed to operate at the competition level.
Hardware Fabrication
Hardware Fabrication has been assisting the other hardware subteams by making parts for both our Beta and Comp robots and organizing the metal stock racks.
Hardware Electrical
This week, the Hardware Electrical subteam finished wiring Beta and began wiring Comp’s bellypan. They also wired the hub fuel counter.
Software robot
This week, Software Robot began hands-on work with the Beta robot. They tuned multiple subsystems and refined controls and automations to enable the robot to operate at a high-level.
software scouting
Software Scouting Front-End finished updating both their objective and subjective Match Collection, Stand Strategist, and Viewer apps. They also had their first full system field test and began working on fixing bugs that appeared.
Software Scouting Back-End ran their first full-system field test this week. Using test data from Front-End’s apps, they have been debugging and fixing the issues that arose. They also finished their calculations and are working on extensive testing to make sure the system is reliable and robust.
business and media
strategy
impact award
Business and Media has been working on some longer-term projects and other initiatives geared towards team sustainability, including revamping our recruitment videos, finishing the Genentech grant application, and completing a stats update for our sponsors. They also finished converting our website platform to Wix.
This week, Strategy worked on simulating possible alliance compositions and categorizing robots based on traits and capabilities. Additionally, they made progress simulating auto paths and working on deciding data points for our team compatibility metrics. Currently, they are working on developing teleop strategies based on time and feasibility in matches and continuing to update our simulation calculations and auto pathing.
The Impact Award subteam has been diligently working on the Essay and Executive Summaries and are preparing to submit this upcoming week. After numerous mentor reviews and comments, they have corrected some content and numbers, and have now shifted towards working on documentation and the Impact video.
week 3 - a groundbreaking beta bot
We just concluded the third week of Build Season! This week, through all of our subteams' hard work, we are almost finished with our Beta robot, the second iteration in the process of developing a final robot design.
Hardware Design
Hardware Design has been designing and assembling Beta for the electrical and software subteams to develop into a functioning robot. They have also continued testing the prototype shooter, focusing on accuracy and increasing scoring consistency.
Hardware Fabrication
The Fabrication subteam has been manufacturing components for the Beta robot using the lathe, router, mill, CNC mill, and CNC lathe. At this point, approximately 95% of required parts have been completed. The remaining components to be fabricated include the climber and drivetrain assemblies.
Hardware Electrical
The Hardware Electrical subteam has spent the last week wiring the Beta bellypan, intake, and climber. They also created the complete wiring diagram for Beta, providing a simplified visual layout of all the electrical components that will go on our robot.
Software robot
This week, the Software Robot subteam focused on developing automation features to simplify the driver control scheme and improve overall robot usability. They also prepared the full software systems required for the Beta robot. In addition, the team continued developing an AI-based fuel detection system to enable more advanced and reliable autonomous routines.
software scouting
The Software Scouting Front-End subteam finalized both Subjective Collection and Stand Strategist datapoints. They also completed Match Collection UI and continued working on Viewer.
This past week, Software Scouting Back-End has been working on auto paths, The Blue Alliance calculations, and finishing up full schema to send to Front-End. They also started writing tests for objective data, training Doozer Vision for fuel detection, and scraping scores from competition livestream.
business and media
strategy
impact award
Business and Media has worked on regular “status updates” for sponsors; producing the Impact Award video; and now that the Beta robot’s drivetrain is finished, they also heat-pressed “Limestone”, the robot’s name, onto the bumpers.
This week, Strategy finished consolidating data collected from FRC Open Alliance teams to assess the current direction that teams plan on heading with their robots. Currently, they are working on mapping out auto paths that alliance partners may use, investigating potential match strategies, and updating calculations for our simulations.
Impact Award revised and sent the essay out for a final mentor review and made progress on their presentation and Executive Summary. They also discussed and finalized their theme for the presentation.
Week 2 - Digging deep
It's the second week of the 2026 season and our subteams are hard at work! We are continuing to implement on and build different mechanisms for both our Alpha and Beta robots!
Hardware Design
Hardware Design spent the last week experimenting with the 2026 game elements, prototyping mechanisms, including intake and climber systems, and creating a working Alpha robot to test on-field. They are also currently building Beta, a more competitive concept aimed at maximizing the rate at which we can score and allowing us to practice match cycles.
Hardware Fabrication
The Hardware Fabrication subteam continued Beta part creation, focusing on field-specific components, particularly outpost and hub finishing. At this stage, the robot is approximately 60% complete with Beta parts, marking solid progress toward a finalized design.
Hardware Electrical
Hardware Electrical focuses on prototyping, with particular attention to shooter systems. They planned out the full electronics layout for Beta and worked on automation for the hub ball return system.
Software robot
The Software Robot subteam has continued prototyping, while developing advanced software automation for shooting mechanisms. They also worked on simulation systems to test and refine robot behavior before full physical implementation.
software scouting
Software Scouting Front-End continued updating their apps for the 2026 season, including the Match Collection app and Viewer’s Auto Paths system. They also finished updating Pit Collection and began making large internal changes to Viewer due to Software Back-End’s massive server overhaul.
Software Scouting Back-End wrote core calculation systems and updated the match collection schema. They created a new calculation schema for formatting and aggregation and developed additional scripts to support expanded functionality across the scouting system.
business and media
strategy
impact award
The Business and Media team has continued work on grant applications, various different flyers promoting 1678’s outreach, and began planning a social media series designed to show the different aspects of the 2026 game, Rebuilt, that were inspired by past games. They also began larger, longer term projects such as Robot Reveal Night, sponsor retention, and restructuring online organization.
The strategy subteam presented tradeoff calculations, worked on playstyle simulations, and evaluated open alliance team decisions to guide our match strategy.
The Impact Award subteam continued to refine their essay, meeting with Team 5985 Project Bucephalus on Friday to discuss both the essay and video components. They are currently working to develop a consistent video game-themed narrative across the submission.
Week 1 - Trowel and Error
Welcome to the Citrus Circuits Build Blog! Every week, we recap our team's progress and challenges on our robot for the new year’s game, Rebuilt. Follow our progress here leading up to our robot reveal on February 28!
Kickoff
On January 10, our team participated in the world-wide kickoff of the 2026 game, Rebuilt. We invited 15 other teams to Brunelle Hall to watch the reveal livestream and get their Kit of Parts for the upcoming season. After the livestream, we split into groups to determine our “What's” and “How's” for our 2026 robot.
Kickoff
In the 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition game, Rebuilt, presented by Haas, teams will use engineering skills and re-imagine the past. Inspired by previous FRC games, two alliances of three teams each compete to earn points by scoring Fuel in their Hub and climbing their Tower. The game animation for Rebuilt is linked here!
Hardware design
Hardware Design completed the first draft of Alpha, the first robot in our design process, splitting into smaller prototyping groups to develop key mechanisms including the Fuel intake, shooter, and indexer, as well as a climber mechanism. Some of the options under consideration are one or two shooters, turret or fixed shooter, different types of indexing systems for the balls, and a level one or level three climb.
Hardware Fabrication
Fabrication subteam members have been assisting in prototyping our 2026 robot and helping create the parts needed for mechanisms. Additionally, they have been making parts needed to build the new field and are continuing to bring new members up to the highest training level on all of our mills, lathes, and routers.
Hardware Electrical
Hardware Electrical has been working on prototyping several different mechanisms, using electrical boards designed to be easily movable between components. They also wired Alpha, which is now electrically complete.
Software robot
Software Robot has been focusing on developing auto routines while completing Alpha bring-up and initializing the vision system. They have also been working on a system that allows the robot to shoot while moving, including implementing linear regression models to improve shooter accuracy.
Software scouting
The Software Scouting Front-End subteam is currently updating the design for our Match Collection app for the new season and working on improving our Pit Collection and Viewer apps to reflect the 2026 game.
Software Scouting Back-End has been updating their schema and calculations with datapoints from the game. They determined the method for deriving Fuel scores from objective scouts, and are beginning work on implementing it in Python.
business and media
Business and Media has been hard at work supporting the rest of the team as we enter the 2026 season. On the business side, they have continued reaching out to both existing and potential sponsors of the team and started several grant applications. They have also worked on the 2026 season shirt, 2025 offseason recap and Fall Workshop videos, and have taken media of prototyping efforts.
strategy
The Strategy Subteam has been analyzing the different aspects of Rebuilt and running calculations to explore the different possibilities of match flow. They recently created statistical simulations to narrow down the scope of this year’s strategy and help push our robot’s playstyle in certain directions. Their current focus is to simulate potential autonomous paths and teleop strategies, while continuing to identify the many tradeoffs in different match scenarios.
impact
The Impact Award subteam has continued to revise the essay and executive summary, and started to prepare for their presentation at our first district event, Half Moon Bay. They are currently collaborating with the winners of last year's Impact Award, 5985 Project Bucephalus from Australia, to improve their submission!