We were fortunate to be invited again this year to the Buchanan Community School Farm for Plow Day! We had the opportunity to meet the next generation of farmer and talk about why robotics is so important now and into the future. We also had a chance to take our drone out for the first time this year!

So what is the Industrial Design Award? FIRST states that this award, “Celebrates the team that demonstrates industrial design principles, striking a balance between form, function, and aesthetics.” In order to be considered for this award:

• A team must be able to describe how their robot is elegant, efficient (simple/executable), and practical.
• The entire machine design, or the detailed process used to develop the design, is worthy of this recognition, and not just a single component.
• The robot distinguishes itself from others by its aesthetic and functional design. 

Our robot was recognized in particular for its clean electrical layout, intuitive cable and hose management and overall simple light-weight design. The judges also noted our new dashboard system that allows for complete Autonomous Mode code to be built directly on the dashboard and applied to the robot without ever having to recompile code!