Our Vision
The vision of the Duluth East Daredevils Robotics Team is to show members of the community that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only enjoyable and rewarding but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future. Through partnering with and mentoring local teams, the Daredevils aim to promote FIRST’s programs and values in the community. Within the team, they encourage members to put forth their best effort, and, with values stemming from Gracious Professionalism, motivate others to achieve high levels of performance. The strength of this team lies in its drive to innovate, inspire, and provide students with tools and opportunities to succeed beyond the world of FIRST.
Who we are?
We are a team of students that take on the task of building a robot for the annual FRC competition. This is a challenging endeavor, but the rewards are great. We have been competing in FRC since 2008. As a part of this team, you will learn and use real-life problem-solving skills in a variety of fields.
The Daredevils are much more than the yearly competition. We use our skills to promote STEM and STEM education to the wider community. We do this through community outreach at local events as well as hosting STEM camps for younger students.
Season Layout
Off-Season
The Gitch in Summer of 2019 at Duluth East High School.
During off-season, our team focuses on community outreach and the Gitchi Gummi Get Together, a summer robotics competition which the Daredevils host. Additionally, the Daredevils run Lego robotics camps for grades three through five.
Throughout the summer the Daredevils are constantly on the move, engaging in community events across the area, participating in events like the Rhubarb festival and Husky Baseball Games. Additionally, during the summer the team hosts the Gitchi Gummi Get Together which is an off season robotics event where dozens of teams come together to compete and have fun. Starting in June the team also hosts Lego camps for kids interested in STEM.
Pre-Season
Throughout the summer, our team is constantly fundraising, sponsoring, scouting, and participating in community events to prepare for the next Season. Our meeting schedule during the summer is fairly relaxed but regular.
Starting in early October, we begin preparing for the new season by recruiting and interviewing potential members. This involves student-made video advertisements, posters, and presentations to freshmen classes. Once the team is formed we train our new recruits, maintain old robots, give presentations to the community, and seek potential sponsors to raise funds for the upcoming Build Season.
Past Team Management Captain Autumn Kloss and past Media Member Kion McLaughlin
Build Season
Past Electronics Captain Charli Worcester working on 2023 robot Artifact, with past build member Henry Goldberg and Build Mentor Kale Engen
Every year, on the first Saturday in January, NASA hosts a Kickoff for the FIRST Robotics Competition Build Season. Teams gather to watch a live video feed that informs them of the year’s new challenge, starting off the six-week build period.
On the day of Kickoff, our team has a twelve-hour brainstorming session where we design our 120-pound robot and decide what goals we would like to focus on for the given challenge. This means breaking up into randomly selected small groups (all departments are involved) which then create proposals and whiteboard sketches to present to the large group once we reassemble.
After the brainstorming is over, our team switches to an intense five-day schedule, with Build often meeting on weekends to maximize machine shop time. The remaining departments use this five-day, six-week time frame to prepare for the upcoming competition, funding, reservations, press releases, etc. We also typically set one evening of each week aside for dinner to allow team members to catch up and converse.
Competition Season
In addition to competing in regionals, we are the host team of the Northern Lights Regional, which is held at the DECC in early March. During the competition season our team meets regularly every week (depending on what needs to be accomplished).
At each regional, we cheer loudly, keep up maintenance on the robot, update the press using videos, photos, and press releases, as well as strategize about potential alliance members. Our team uses Windows Surfaces for data taking, utilizing a custom app allowing for easy and convenient data input which is later compiled into spreadsheets and graphs.
Drive Team at 2023 Northern Lights Regional