Yucatán i6 Competition — First Collector Robot
Two-person design, assembly, and programming
My first competitive robotics build: working alongside a friend, I designed, assembled, and programmed a collector robot to gather paper balls and bottle caps and deposit them into a target container. Earning 3rd place proved I could turn an idea into a working machine.
Role and authorship attribution
Built in a two-student partnership with a middle school classmate, sharing mechanical assembly, testing, and programming.
Context and constraints
First experience designing and programming an autonomous/controlled mechanism under competition rules, driven purely by curiosity.
Analysis, alternatives, and criteria
We chose a straightforward intake and deposit geometry tailored to lightweight objects (paper balls and caps) to ensure repeatable scoring.
Execution and teamwork
We iterated on chassis balance and collection cycles through repeated physical trials until the full pickup-and-deposit sequence worked reliably.
Verified outcomes and lessons
- 3rd Place in the Yucatán i6 Robotics category.
- Core takeaway: seeing an idea we built from scratch perform in the real world gave me the confidence to pursue competitive engineering.
Documentary evidence
Yucatán i6 Award Documentation
3rd Place recognition in the robotics competition.