Groveland-based robotics team 8057, All Wired Up held its build season kick-off at the Lake David Center Saturday, January 7.  The team met to watch the introduction of this year’s FIRST FRC Charged Up game presented by Qualcomm.  Mayor Evelyn Wilson joined mentors Jon Salvia and Mark Vitek along with parents and family members for the global video presentation covering this year’s game.  Team 8057 is one of only a handful of community-based FIRST Robotics teams in Florida that allows students from any local school to be part of the team.  The video presentation kicks off “the build season” where the team meets daily and is expecting many new students along with the returning team members.  

The team recalled its success from last year’s build season and competition.  The team was only one of a handful of teams that mastered pneumatics for its shooting and scoring.  This year the team plans to build on its experience with BOB (Big Ole Bot).  The competition will pit the team and its skills against other teams in a worldwide competitive environment.  This is the team’s fourth season and culminates in the live competition typically held at the UCF Arena in March.  While the mentors provide guidance, the students are responsible for all phases of the design, build, and competition.  The focus is “gracious professionalism” and team safety.   

There are a wide array of skills needed to run the team.  Fundraising and generating sponsors have been in motion since the beginning of the school year.  Graphic design for team shirts and documents are done by the team.  Last year, they added a 3D printer which requires the team to master SolidWorks to design and create some of the pieces they need.  There are electrical and mechanical assembly skills to be understood and implemented during the build. 

Once the build is complete, the team learns to operate the wireless controls and run the robot.  The year starts with the competition kick-off.  This year’s competition is called Energize and features new scoring and game elements that the team will use to create the design from a blank slate.  The team will take those game elements and game components and actually build a completely new robot for 2023. 

The team meets weekly during the school year at Edge Memorial United Methodist Church in a donated dedicated clubhouse room.  Other main sponsors include the City of Groveland and Kalos Services Inc. who will be covering the majority of the operating costs for the season.  Funds from Mom’s Guide To Robotics are used for promotional items like team shirts, lunches, and internet presence.  Link Printing and other local businesses provide discounted items.

The team operates as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies solely on donations and sponsorships.  The team is dedicated to bringing access to robotics programs to all Lake County students.  The team is open to any student in grades 8-12 regardless of what type of school they attend in south Lake County. 

On Facebook “all wired up – FRC team 8057” link HERE or the website allwireduprobotics.home.blog/

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