This week’s session, one of our early-season reviews, was led by Coaches Will and Ben. The meeting showcased the team’s progress and highlighted areas to refine as we continue to build momentum.

Engineering Notebook & Canva Setup

Leon presented updates on the Innovation Project, sparking a discussion around whether memes help or distract judges. Brandon then reviewed the Engineering Notebook, noting that so far the team has only documented the “Identify” and “Iterate” steps—such as identifying the robot we want for next year. Coach Will emphasized that notebook pages should appear in consistent pairs rather than very different formats, and suggested setting up Canva accordingly. He reminded the team that this is still early in the season, so iteration will be key. His challenge: each week, assume our slides are “wrong” and improve them.

Innovation Project: Weather Control at Excavation Sites

Coach Ben guided the team through the Innovation Project discussion, which focused on soil stabilization at excavation sites to prevent collapses. Wanying shared research on fungi inoculation and biochar as potential methods. Coach Ben introduced several creative solution names generated with AI support, including Magic Sandbag, Slope Shield, Wattle Fence, and Spray-on Soil Shield. Leon added the playful idea of Fun Guy for a fungi-based solution.

The team narrowed down their choices and ultimately decided to move forward with the Magic Sandbag concept. Judges’ understanding was added as a new evaluation category, alongside innovation, wow factor, buildability, and archaeological fit. The group also watched a soil stabilizer sprayer video and raised further questions, such as whether fungi could be effective in different soil types.

Team Split & Next Steps

To make the most of time, the team split into two groups: Brandon, Olivia, and Reina worked on robot design with Coach Will, while Leon, Wanying, and Jason joined Coach Ben to continue Innovation Project research. 

The session closed with a reminder from Coach Will: beyond AI-generated ideas, deep and detailed research will set our team apart. With iteration, consistency, and creativity, we’re off to a strong start this season.

The team also used this opportunity to wish Reina a happy birthday, a reminder that while we’re working hard, we’re also building friendships along the way.