Dread Pirate Robotics

Needs Help to Sail to the World Championships, Next Month

Just under a year ago, a motley crew of middle school and high school students joined together under the black and red Dread Pirate Robotics banner with a daunting mission: to navigate the high seas of the FIRST ^® Tech Challenge with a robot they designed and built and to arrive at their desired destination - victory.

Mission accomplished. At the Alabama State Championship, they topped a field of 23 competitors scoring six wins and no losses. Inviting the Blue Bananas Team to storm the castle with them in the final championship round, they emerged victorious as the winning alliance captain, and they earned a trip to the World Championship in Houston, TX, April 16-20.

Dread Pirate Robotics, left, found that a holocaust cloak is an essential accessory for storming castles or robot competitions. The Dread Pirates teamed with alliance partner Blue Bananas, right, to conquer the Alabama State Robot Competition Finals.

The secret of their success? “The big reason why we were able to win was because of how simplistic our robot was, because a lot of people had breakages non-stop because they overcomplicated things.’’

Hello. My name is Inigo Botoya. You face the Dread Pirates? Prepare to cry.

Their design philosophy? “…we mainly wanted it to be very simple but efficient. So that’s why almost everything on our robot is 3D printed. So that way, it’s easily replaceable, and we don’t use anything that could break really easily.’’

Here’s a video of the robot the team designed, built, and programed, autonomously manipulating plastic blocks in a regulation competition field.

The Dread Pirate Robotics crew work on their robot, Inigo Botoya. It’s an R.O.U.S. - a Robot Of Unusual Size.

The teams’ plan for the World Championships? “We’re using the same robot. We’re updating it…. Just making everything faster.’’

You can follow the team at their Facebook page.

While there is joy in the Owens Cross Roads/Hampton Cove area, where team members live, there’s a caveat: the invite comes with a price tag. The entry fee is $2,500, and the group and their families estimate that it will take $18,000 to ship equipment and cover all essential personnel for the trip to Space City, and they need financial assistance.

The Dread Pirate Robotics Team poses after their Alabama State Victory. Seven team members attend New Century Technology High School, one is at Huntsville High, and another attends Hampton Cove Middle School.

The Society for Post-Quantum Research, LLC is a proud sponsor of the team.

If you’d like to support Dread Pirate Robotics team with a donation, visit their GoFundMe page.