During my first robotics offseason with Team 3859, Wolfpack Robotics, I helped build a robot we called B-Bot. This quickly became one of my favorite robotics experiences and one of my first real steps into engineering.
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Problem / Goal
B-Bot was based on the Rapid React challenge, where robots shot cargo into a high hub. Instead of building a full scorer, we built a stripped-down defensive robot designed to disrupt other teams and play aggressive field control.
Drive System Leap
This was our team's first robot using swerve drive, compared to the traditional tank drive we had used before. Tank drive is simple and powerful, while swerve gives full omnidirectional mobility but demands much tighter mechanical precision and software control.
My Build Role
Assembling the swerve modules was a major highlight for me. They do not come pre-built, so I learned to read CAD, follow assemblies, and make real parts fit together under time pressure.
Scrap Build + Competition Push
We built B-Bot almost entirely from scrap: reused aluminum stock, miscut CNC tubing, and leftover parts from earlier seasons. It was rough around the edges, but it was ours. Wiring, troubleshooting, and late-night fixes to get it ready for Madtown Throwdown was a grind, but seeing it drive onto the field made it worth every minute.
Results + Reflection
B-Bot did not win matches, and sometimes had trouble even turning on, but watching it compete against other teams was an incredible feeling. What made it special was not performance, it was the process: while most of the team focused on the main robot, a small group of new members and I built B-Bot from the ground up. That ownership and teamwork stuck with me.
B-Bot might not have been our strongest robot, but for me, it will always be the robot that started my robotics journey.
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