For information about the FIRST Robotics programs, click here.

The Boston University Robotics team, Overclocked, is a high school program whose goal is to build and design a robot for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. FIRST Robotics is an annual competition that provides high school students with a hands-on engineering experience by teaming up with adult mentors, such as engineering students, to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way. During the fall semester, the team meets twice weekly in the Engineering Research Building at Boston University. In the fall semester, students learn basic mechanical designs and techniques by building and competing with VEX robots. In the spring, we compete at the FRC Boston and Worcester Regional, and an FTC event, with the hope of going to the FIRST Championship.

This year, Team 246 combined the minds and energy of 32 high-school students from Boston University Academy. The students were mentored by Academy faculty, four undergraduates from Boston University (from the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Communication), an undergraduate from MIT (who also happens to be a BUA alumnus). Additionally, numerous other parents assisted the team by chaperoning events, fundraising, and helping with transportation to events.

F.I.R.S.T. officially reveals the annual game’s rules during the first weekend of January, kicking off the build period. From that point, design, construction, and programming of the robot will take place seven days a week until after President’s Day weekend, when the robots must be shipped off until the regional competition. Robots are typically made from aluminum and plastic, weighing up to 120 pounds, and can be up to five feet tall. Moving arms, sensors, and drive-trains are able to be controlled both manually and autonomously.

By the end of the build season, students tend to concentrate on one aspect of the competition: from mechanical and electrical construction and repairs of the robot, to programming both control modes, to digital animation, to outreach with other teams, to public relations, and team spirit.

Our lab is located in the BU Mechanical Engineering building: