2018-2019 / V5RC
High-School Robotics Foundation
The 2018-2019 V5RC season was where I started turning mechanical ideas into competition hardware: drivetrain architecture, structure, lift geometry, and the discipline of fixing problems quickly between matches.
Engineering Focus
Learning the constraints first
V5RC rewards fast iteration inside a standardized parts ecosystem. This season built the habits that carried forward: keep structures serviceable, make mechanism changes easy to test, and design around driver feedback instead of perfect CAD assumptions.
V5RCDrivetrainLift GeometryDriver Feedback
Takeaway
Reliability became the first design requirement
The biggest lesson was that a clever mechanism only matters if it survives repeated matches. I learned to value simple load paths, accessible fasteners, and quick repair decisions as much as scoring performance.