Robotics Demos

FIRST Robotics is a high-intensity international competition that challenges high school student teams to design, build, and program industrial-sized robots to compete in a complex field game. Beyond technical engineering, the program fosters "Gracious Professionalism" and "Coopertition," teaching students essential life skills in leadership, fundraising, and community branding. Team 8013, the Boston Lions, is based in the Boston area. For the past 6 years it has brought together students from several Boston area schools (Boston Latin, Newton Country Day, Belmont Hill, BB&N).

In the 2026 game REBUILT two alliances of three robots each compete on a field to "uncover and reconstruct" history through high-speed mechanical action.  The match begins with a 20-second Autonomous Period where robots operate purely on pre-programmed code and on-device AI to score Fuel (ball-shaped game pieces) into designated hubs. During the subsequent (~2 minute) teleoperated period, teams alternate scoring rights in "Shifts," requiring precise timing and defensive strategy. Season scores surpassed 700 balls, and robots could typically score 5-15 balls per second. It was an engaging season to watch.

Here's a video of a game where we played on the blue alliance and won.