Aztecbot — FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Competitive Robotics
Builder, Design Captain, and Drive Coach
I joined Aztecbot in my first year of high school with zero prior FTC experience and grew into Design Captain and Drive Coach. By leading a shift toward 100% CAD-first engineering under our FEV methodology, our public-school team reached the Mexican National Championship twice and won the Design Award 1st Place at the international Mexico Premier Event.
Role and authorship attribution
All competition honors belong to the collective Aztecbot team. My direct contributions included physical assembly and ideation during Into the Deep, and during Decode: co-leading full-robot CAD modeling in Onshape, 3D printing and laser-cut fabrication, serving as Drive Coach, and programming the automated shot angle/velocity correction and basket auto-aim logic for the Mexico Premier Event.
Context and constraints
Entering high school during the Into the Deep season (2024–2025), I started from scratch on a young public-school team that had never competed at a regional tournament before.
In the Decode season (2025–2026), our goal was to eliminate costly trial-and-error builds and later engineer a brand-new robot in just a few weeks after earning an invitation to the international Mexico Premier Event.
Analysis, alternatives, and criteria
Together with a teammate, I introduced a 100% CAD-first workflow in Onshape so the entire chassis and mechanism geometry were verified digitally before fabricating physical parts.
We evaluated every subsystem using our FEV criteria (Reliability, Efficiency, and Feasibility), tailoring designs for 3D printing and laser cutting.
Ahead of the Mexico Premier Event, I identified driver aiming pressure as a key bottleneck and implemented automated shot angle correction, velocity compensation, and basket auto-aiming in robot code.
Execution and teamwork
In year one, consistent daily work alongside teammates turned initial uncertainty into a finalist-caliber robot.
As Design Captain in year two, I oversaw pre-assembly CAD verification, and as Drive Coach at the National Championship and Mexico Premier Event, I led driver practice, rulebook mastery, and live match strategy.
Verified outcomes and lessons
- Into the Deep (2024–2025): Regional Finalist and Inspire Award 1st Place winner; qualified for the FTC Mexico National Championship, advancing to playoffs and finishing in the National Top 10.
- Decode (2025–2026): Regional Winning Alliance Captain (qualifying again for Nationals) and invited to the international Mexico Premier Event, winning Design Award 1st Place for our engineering process and FEV methodology.
- Core takeaway: ambitious results grow out of disciplined daily effort, and validating designs digitally multiplies what a resource-constrained team can achieve.
Documentary evidence
Decode Robot CAD Assemblies (Onshape)
Full-robot parametric models built under our CAD-first and FEV workflow.
Automated Shot Angle, Velocity & Auto-Aim Logic
Control logic developed for the Mexico Premier Event robot.
FTC Competition & Award Documentation
Photographs from Inspire Award 1st Place, Winning Alliance Captain, and Design Award 1st Place.