25

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Raider Robotix
Rookie Year:	1997
Inactive Years:	{{{inactive}}}
Location:	North Brunswick, NJ
School:	North Brunswick Township HS
Approx. size:	30
Team Website:	http://www.raiderrobotix.org
Team Info · TBA page · CD pics

"Nothing Is Beyond Our Reach"

History

The Beginning

FRC Team 25, Raider Robotix, was founded in 1997 as part of the Systemic Science Initiative. Early on, the team struggled to field a competitive team and gain financial support from the surrounding community.

National Success

In 2000, after hosting an open house, the local branch of Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to lend its financial and technical support to the team. This sparked the dawn of a new era in Raider Robotix. They won the National Championship that year, gaining them national prominence.

Continued Excellence

Since their 2000 win, they have continued a tradition of success both on and off the field.

They started their own rookie support program, dubbed RINOS or Rookies In Need of Support, which has helped to start over 30 teams nationwide. Each year, Raider Robotix hosts its own off-season competition, known as Brunswick Eruption, which allows local teams to continue competing into the fall. They also strive to maintain a high level of community involvement, requiring that each member complete ten hours of community service in order to remain active on the roster.

On the field, 25 is continually known as a top-tier competitor and international powerhouse. They have won numerous regionals and awards, most notably the2006 New Jersey Regional Chairman's Award and the 2006 Championship Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award. They have also written essays that have earned two mentors, Wayne Cokeley, 25's head mentor, and Paul Kloberg, former FIRST Senior Mentor for New Jersey, the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Raider Robotix has also competed on Einstein four times since their National Championship win.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment for Raider Robotix has come on the international stage. In 2006, they were competing in the finals at the Championship Event. A team from the opposing alliance was in need of a critical spare part in order to continue competing. No one on their alliance could provide the part, but 25 knew they could. They graciously allowed the team to use their spare part to fix their robot. The opposing alliance eventually went on to win the event. After the event, Dean Kamen wrote a letter to the team acknowledging their sacrifice and praising them for upholding FIRST's ideal of Gracious Professionalism, even at the cost of losing the Championship Event.

Projects

Rookies in Need of Support

Rookies in Need of Support, or RINOS, was started by Raider Robotix in an effort to provide rookie teams with a place to turn for advice and help in their first year of competition. RINOS mentors aid the newcomers in how to gain community support, find funding, get students interested, and how to efficiently manage their time. Many mentor teams provide the new team with a robot so they can compete as pre-rookies at off-season events before the official season begins. The RINOS program provides manuals for the mentoring team, as well as the rookie team. These manuals, as well as other resources, can be found on the FIRST RINOS homepage.

Brunswick Eruption

Each fall, Raider Robotix hosts an off-season competition held in their high school gym. The competition usually follows official FIRST competition rules, although slight changes have been made in previous years. Teams are encouraged to bring pre-rookie teams to the event and are often offered a discounted entry fee. The event generally has 30-40 participating teams from NJ, NY, DE, and PA with some teams traveling from Canada or Maryland to attend. Aside from offering teams a place to compete with their robot during the fall, the competition also allows team 25 to invite members from the local community to attend and get excited about robotics.

Community Involvement

It has been a longstanding requirement that all members complete at least ten hours of community service in order to be placed on the roster for the season. The team frequently participates in group community service projects and have a strong relationship with the North Brunswick Senior Citizen Center and the North Brunswick Food Pantry. Many students also lend their aid to local hospitals, soup kitchens, religious organisations, and fire departments.

Raider Robotix LEGO Camp

In an effort to get younger students interested in and excited about FIRST Robotics, Raider Robotix hosts a summer LEGO robotics camp. During the two weeks, middle school students are introduced to simple robot design, construction, and programming through the use of the LEGO Mindstorms and LEGO NXT robotics kits. They are given certain tasks to complete, such as following a line using a light sensor or building a simple drag racing robot, and have a few days to build an effective robot.

Robots

• 1997: Silver Eagle
• 1998: 1998 Robot
• 1999: 1999 Robot
• 2000: Cradle-Robber
• 2001: Robo-Kong
• 2002: Silver Scorpion
• 2003: Evil Machine 1.0: Opportunity Knocks
• 2004: Evil Machine 2.0
• 2005: Evil Machine 3.0
• 2006: Evil Machine 4.0: The Enforcer AKA Bingo
• 2007: Evil Machine 5.0: La Guillotine AKA Rack-A-Tier
• 2008: Evil Machine 6.0: Jughandle
• 2009: Evil Machine 7.0: Ball Gobbler
• 2010: Evil Machine 8.0: The Cyclone
• 2011: Evil Machine 9.0: La Guillotine v2.0
• 2012: Evil Machine 10.0: Rasheed Wallace

Accomplishments

2012

• 2012: Mount Olive MAR District Event Champions (3rd seed alliance captain) (w/ 222 & 3929)
• 2012: Mount Olive MAR District Event high score
• 2012: Mid Atlantic Regional Champions (w/ 341 & 1640)
• 2012: MAR Championship Event high score (and new national high score heading into the Championship)
• 2012: Championship Galileo Division Winners (w/ 180 & 16)
• 2012: Championship Winners (w/ 180 & 16)

2011

• 2011: VA Regional 3rd Seed Alliance Captain
• 2011: VA Regional Champion (w/ 1676 & 1522)
• 2011: VA Regional Xerox Creativity Award
• 2011: Championship Newton Division Winners (w/ 217 & 1503)
• 2011: Championship Semi-finalists (w/ 217 & 1503)
• 2011: Accepted to the Indiana Robotics Invitational (IRI)
• 2011: Duel on the Delaware Semifinalists (w/ 369 & 1647)
• 2011: Brunswick Eruption 10 Finalists (w/ 2559 & 369)

2010

• 2010: NJ Regional Regional Champion (w/ 1676 & 3059)
• 2010: NJ Regional 1st Seed
• 2010: NJ Regional GM Industrial Design Award
• 2010: NJ Regional Coopertition Award
• 2010: Tie for the national high score of all Week 1 Regionals: 15 points
• 2010: Las Vegas Regional [undefeated] Champions (w/ 254 & 3230)
• 2010: Las Vegas Regional #1 Seed
• 2010: Las Vegas Regional Coopertition Award
• 2010: Las Vegas Regional GM Industrial Design Award
• 2010: Won a $5K award from Cirque de Soleil for our robot design
• 2010: Championship Archimedes Division Semi-finalists (w/ teams 330 & 1622)
• 2010: Official Record: 41-5-2
• 2010: PARC #1 Seed
• 2010: PARC Champions (w/ 341 & 1989)
• 2010: Monty Madness #1 Seed
• 2010: Monty Madness Champions (w/ 303 & 369)
• 2010: Bridgewater-Raritan Battle Royale (BR)^2 #1 Seed
• 2010: Bridgewater-Raritan Battle Royale (BR)^2 High Score (22 Points)
• 2010: Bridgewater-Raritan Battle Royale (BR)^2 Champions (w/ 2016 & 1071)
• 2010: Duel on the Delaware Champions (5th Seed Alliance Captain w/ 341 & 357)
• 2010: Brunswick Eruption 9 Number One Seed
• 2010: Brunswick Eruption 9 Champions (w/ 1519 & 222)

2009

• 2009: NJ Regional Finalists (w/ 612 & 834)
• 2009: Florida Regional Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award
• 2009: Monty Madness Champions (w/ 1279 and 1302)
• 2009: Bridgewater-Raritan Battle Royale (BR)^2 Finalists (w/ 1923 and 1048)
• 2009: Duel on the Delaware Champions (w/ 316 and 007) [4th Seed alliance captain)

2008

• 2008: NJ Regional Champions (w/ 103 & 381)
• 2008: HI Regional Autodesk Visualization Award
• 2008: HI Regional Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award
• 2008: PARC XI Champions (w/ 365 & 145-2)
• 2008: Monty Madness Finalists (w/ 522 & 136)
• 2008: Battle O' Baltimore Champions (w/ 357 & 1748)
• 2008: Duel on the Delaware Champions (w/ 555 & 1089)
• 2008: Pascack PANDA-monium #1 Seed
• 2008: Pascack PANDA-monium Champions (w/ 11 & Pre-rookie 2791)
• 2008: Pascack PANDA-monium "Best Display of GP" Award
• 2008: Brunswick Eruption 7 Champions (w/ 1075 & 1302)
• 2008: Ramp Riot #1 Seed
• 2008: Ramp Riot Champions (w/ 103, 303, & 708)

2007

• 2007: NJ Regional Champions (w/ 103 & 1302)
• 2007: NJ Regional #1 Seed
• 2007: NJ Regional General Motors Industrial Design Award
• 2007: First team to break the rack.
• 2007: UTC Woodie Flowers Award (Paul Kloberg)
• 2007: UTC Regional Finalist (w/ 176 & 2104)
• 2007: Championships Galileo #3 Seed (Undefeated through qualification)
• 2007: Record: 32-8-2
• 2007: PARC #1 Seed
• 2007: PARC Champions (w/ 103 & 1071)
• 2007: PARC Out of the PARC Award
• 2007: Battle O' Baltimore #1 Seed
• 2007: Battle O' Baltimore Champions (w/ 1893 & 888)
• 2007: Duel on the Delaware Finalists (w/ 365 & 1719)
• 2007: Brunswick Eruption VI Champions (w/ 1626, 1923, and 222)
• 2007: Ramp Riot 2007 Champions (w/ 1403, 834, and 1219 (1218 pre-rookie))

2006

• 2006: NJ Regional Champions (w/ 103 & 1279)
• 2006: NJ Regional Chairman's Award
• 2006: NJ Regional Woodie Flowers Award
• 2006: NJ Regional #1 Seed
• 2006: Las Vegas Regional Champions (w/ 987 & 8)
• 2006: Las Vegas Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award
• 2006: Las Vegas Regional #1 Seed
• 2006: Championship Newton Division Winners (w/ 968 & 195)
• 2006: Championship Finalists (w/ 968 & 195)
• 2006: Championship Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" Award
• 2006: Nominated for the Entrepreneurship Award at 2006 World Championships
• 2006: PARC Champions
• 2006: Monty Madness Champions
• 2006: IRI #1 Seed
• 2006: IRI Semifinalists
• 2006: Duel on the Delaware 2006 Champions (w/ 365, 423, and 225 pre-rookie team)
• 2006: Ramp Riot Quarter-Finalists
• 2006: Record: 45-5-0

Awards from 2000-2005.

2005

• 2005: NJ Regional Johnson&Johnson Sportsmanship award
• 2005: NJ Regional Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" award
• 2005: South Carolina Regional Finalist
• 2005: South Carolina GM Industrial Design Award
• 2005: Pennsylvania Annual Robotics Challenge (PARC) Champions
• 2005: Montclair Mayhem Finalists
• 2005: Indiana Robotics Invitational (IRI) Semi-finalists
• 2005: Capital Clash Quarterfinalists
• 2005: Our 2004 Robot loaned to a Pre-Rookie won Duel On The Delaware
• 2005: Ramp Riot Champions

2004

• 2004: NJ Regional Leadership in Control Award
• 2004: Chesapeake Regional Engineering Inspiration
• 2004: Duel on the Delaware Champions
• 2004: Frenzy Finale Champions
• 2004: Ramp Riot Champions
• 2004: Brunswick Eruption Finalists
• 2004: PARC Quarterfinalists

2003

• 2003: Championship Finalists
• 2003: Championshiop Curie Division Winners
• 2003: New Jersey Regional Champions
• 2003: Chesapeake Regional Judge's Award
• 2003: PARC Champions
• 2003: Indiana Robotics Invitational Semi-finalists
• 2003: Duel on the Delaware Quarterfinalists
• 2003: Ramp Riot Quarterfinalists
• 2003: Brunswick Eruption Quarterfinalists

2002

• 2002: NJ Regional Finalist
• 2002: NJ Regional Engineering Inspiration Award
• 2002: Championship Archimedes Division Winners
• 2002: Duel on the Delaware Champions
• 2002: Brunswick Eruption Champions
• 2002: Ramp Riot Champions

2001

• 2001: Mid-Atlantic Regional Xerox Creativity Award

2000

• 2000: J&J Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions
• 2000: J&J Mid-Atlantic Regional Xerox Creativity Award
• 2000: J&J Mid-Atlantic Regional Best Offensive Round Award
• 2000: Nationals Division Winner
• 2000: National Champions

Sponsors

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS): Since 2000, Bristol-Myers Squibb & Company has generously supported team 25 by providing funds, and mentors with machining capabilities. After winning the National Championship that year, BMS expanded its support to 6 other teams in New Jersey and Connecticut.

• Day Tool & Mfg., Inc.: After BMS had to make some cutbacks in 2010, a lot of machining and other engineering resources were lost. Day Tool & Mfg., Inc., originally a sponsor of 103, graciously stepped in to sponsor and support Team 25 by donating time and labor in the manufacturing of parts for our robot.

• Cirque du Soleil: At the end of the 2009-2010 season, world-renowned Cirque du Soleil awarded their Cirque du Soleil Prize for Best Design to Raider Robotix. We’re incredibly honored to be recognized by this peerless organization. The $5,000 award went a long way toward keeping the team afloat financially.

• North Brunswick Board of Education: After the team’s victory at the 2011 Virgina regional, with a bank account of close to $0, Raider Robotix was desperately looking around for money to help pay for transportation and the registration of the 2011 World Championships. With just a few days notice the North Brunswick Board of Education came through with $5,000 to help pay for registration, and ultimately the trip to St. Louis., where team 25 won its division and made it to the final four on the Einstein field.

• Time Warner Inc.

• Royal Hawaiian Creations: Team 25 works with Royal Hawaiian Creations, located in Hawaii, each year to obtain the authentic Hawaiian shirts that are a part of our team's signature uniform.

• Infrared Remote Solutions: In the 2008 season, team 25 worked with Infrared Remote Solutions to develop an IR remote control system that allowed us to control our robot's every move during the "Hybrid" portion of that year's game; this was a large contribution to our on-field success that season.

Members List

Students

• Mohanish Shinde: Driver (2010 - Present)
• Prash Ramani: Co-Driver (2010 - Present)
• Sue Pedapudi: Head of Scouting (2011 - Present)
• Tommy Ikuss: Pit Crew (2010 - Present)
• Damian Plavnicky: Pit Crew (2010 - Present)
• Harrison Kaye: Pit Crew (2011-Present)
• Joseph Ikuss: Pit Crew (2011-Present)
• Tori Schamper: Pit/Scout (2011-Present)
• Michael Zimmerman: Pit Crew (2011-Present)
• Melissa Savin: Awards (2010-Present)

Alumni

• Sagar Patel
• Philip Chang
• Howard Cohen
• Teddy Aretakis
• Raj Kanapan
• Chris McLean
• Richard Ebright
• Dhananjay Thanikella
• Rishikesh Tirumala
• Kiran Aravapalli
• Brian Mollica
• Kristian Calhoun
• Morgan Gillespie
• Alexa Stott
• Mario Azar
• Bharat Nain
• Neil Parikh
• Thomas McLean

Mentors

• Wayne Cokeley - Coach
• Bob Goldman - Assistant Coach
• Roger Weiss - Assistant Coach
• Rick Plavnicky - IT
• Kevin Durham - Electrical
• Mike Lubniewski - Electrical/Programming
• Walter Suchowiecki - Welding