After a series of nail-biting victories, Cal Poly’s robotics team, the Gear Slingers, faced the ultimate challenge: securing a spot in the final round of the VEX U Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.
Their opponents in the division finals were the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, with the winner advancing to the VEX Dome to compete against what many consider the best collegiate robotics team in the world.
Project lead Garrett Schnack (mechanical engineering) reflected on the significance of their journey: “This was our first time at the world championship, and we were the only California team to make it to the elimination rounds. Personally, I was an absolute wreck. We had worked so hard all year, and it was all on the line.”
Through the elimination rounds, the team deftly maneuvered their two custom-machined robots, Toothless and Hiccup, across the game field. Their task was clear: score as many goals as possible using Triballs – triangular objects – during each match, which included an autonomous period followed by a driver-controlled period. As the clock wound down, the final challenge loomed: outclimb their opponents on an elevation bar, delivering a thrilling climax to each match.
In the first match of a best-of-three series, RIT outscored Cal Poly 153-120. As the competition intensified, members from other California teams rallied behind the Gear Slingers – their sole representative from the state. Amid the escalating excitement, many offered words of encouragement to Schnack, watching the action from the edge of his seat.
Between rounds, the Gear Slingers regrouped and revised their strategy, enabling them to win the next two matches against RIT. The victory secured their place in the final round of the international competition, making them one of only two elite teams standing from the field of 110 VEX U teams.
“Everyone rushed onto the field, hugging each other in celebration,” Schnack recalled, a moment immortalized in photos that captured the team’s beaming smiles, their banner and the division trophy.
The Gear Slingers observed the opening ceremony from the 8,500-seat VEX Dome in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, surrounded by spectators ranging from middle school to college.
“It felt surreal,” said Tim Hunter, mechanical lead of the project and president of Cal Poly’s Robotics Club. “Just days after the opening ceremony, where we had been sitting high up in the stands, we were about to step onto the field as division champions for the final round. We had made it.”
The Gear Slingers had a wildly successful season leading up to the world championship, staying undefeated in their VEX U regional competitions for the first time in the squad’s five-year history.
Their initial goal was simply to reach Worlds; they never imagined they would end up squaring off against the Purdue SIGBots.
“Purdue has the most famous VEX U team in the world,” Schnack said. “They’ve reached the final round numerous times before.”
Schnack, relieved as the stress of the elimination rounds lifted, rejoined his team just in time for the final showdown, aware that they were in serious battery trouble. After many victorious rounds, their robots’ batteries were severely drained, with no time to recharge before the final match.
In a frantic effort, they reached out to other California teams for help. Almost immediately, a member from UC Riverside dashed down the aisle, shouting, “Here are two batteries!” California Baptist University swiftly followed suit, offering six more.
With fresh batteries powering their robots, the Gear Slingers and SIGBots stepped onto the dome’s field to a chorus of cheers from the enthusiastic crowd and readied themselves for the impending showdown.
The match began with high intensity, as the SIGBots quickly took an early lead, eventually recording their highest score of the tournament by outscoring the Gear Slingers 192-120 in the first round.
Recognizing the need for a revised approach, the Gear Slingers formulated a new strategy emphasizing stronger defense. This tactical shift paid off, allowing them to significantly narrow the scoring gap. Despite their efforts, they narrowly lost the round 153-130, which also sealed their defeat in the best-of-three match series.
Nevertheless, their jubilant celebration afterward might have led any onlooker to believe they had won.
“We lost with the biggest smiles on our faces,” Schnack said. “Going up against the best team and performing the way we did was the perfect way to exit. We stormed onto the scene and proved that Cal Poly is a serious contender.”
With robots packed away and memories firmly in mind, the team headed back to California after accomplishing one more clever feat. Determined to bring their oversized division champion banner home, they discovered it wouldn’t fit in any of their checked bags. Innovatively, they re-engineered a Whataburger takeout box, taped it up and checked it with TSA.
As Schnack and Hunter unfurled their banner in the Bonderson Projects Center’s robotics room, they were already discussing plans for next year’s robots, which definitely include buying more batteries.
By Emily Slater
About The Noyce School of Applied Computing
The Noyce School of Applied Computing is home to the first interdisciplinary school of its kind at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo thanks to a transformative $60 million gift from the Robert N. Noyce Trust.
Housed within the College of Engineering, The Noyce School of Applied Computing combines three departments — Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Software Engineering, and Computer Engineering — with Statistics joining as an affiliate, paving the way for students and faculty using computer principles, concepts and technologies to address real-world problems.
