Paly Robotics is dedicated to enriching the education of its members through building, programming, animation, and community outreach. Our team is focused on learning new skills, which include technical skills, communication skills, leadership skills, and teamwork. We are proud to be a completely student-run team and our finished projects are always a result of our student's work.
The Paly Robotics team is happy to have been a part of FIRST for over 20 years. FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, has a term "gracious professionalism" that we believe everyone should abide by. To read more about FIRST go to their website.
Good design is key to developing a successful robot, and this is the job of the Design Team. Design Team leads the team in prototyping, allowing different mechanisms and ideas to be built and tested out. After determining which prototypes work the best, Design Team creates a computer-aided design (CAD) of the robot before it is built.
The Build Team is in charge of — you guessed it — building the robot! The Build Team takes a design and makes it a reality, thanks to Team 8's plethora of tools, including a lathe, CNC mill, laser cutter and 3D printer. In addition to machining, Build Team members learn about topics such as robot wiring and pneumatics systems, bringing all of this knowledge to help create the final product.
Writing code in Java and Python, the Software Team works alongside Build Team to test our robot and make it functional. In addition to autonomous and human control of the robot, they code features such as computer vision, and a dashboard to display the robot status during matches. We collaborate using Git, and publish our projects here: www.github.com/team8.
What does art have to do with robotics, you may ask? Well, in addition to hosting the classic regional and national robotics competitions, FIRST also holds an annual animation contest! Our Art Team works together to create short videos for this competition using Autodesk 3D animation software. Art Team also designs our t-shirts, posters, flyers, banners, logos, buttons and anything else you can think of!
The Strategy and Scouting Team is in charge of creating a web-based system for the team to use while scouting and planning out matches at competition. They are also responsible for helping determine the objectives of the robot at the beginning of each season.
The Business Team has ensured the financial sustainability of the team since its inception in 2015. Business Team oversees all corporate sponsorships, fundraising, outreach, awards, and public relations efforts. Every year we develop business, sponsorship, and diversity plans.
Business Team has won the Entrepreneurship Award 7x: Central Valley Regional 2015, Silicon Valley Regional 2015, CalGames 2016, Ventura Regional 2017, Silicon Valley Regional 2017, Arizona North Regional 2018, Del Mar Regional 2019
With more than 150 years of history, Bayer is one of the world’s primary life science groups, developing technologies for pharmaceuticals, crop sciences, and consumer health. Their philanthropic branch, the Bayer Fund, supports many FIRST teams, including Team 8, helping to shape the next generation of engineers. |
KLA is a Bay Area corporation that researches, creates, and produces semiconductor equipment, electron and photon optics, sensor technology, machine learning, and data analytics. Their work ushers forth advancements in pioneering fields, such as autonomous cars, space exploration, and VR experiences. Team 8 is inspired by the KLA model of innovation and their motto of “keep looking ahead”; we are thrilled to be sponsored by their KLA Foundation. |
Consumer electronics company TE Connectivity manufactures sensors and connectors able to function in harsh environments, enabling advancements in fields such as transportation, industrial applications, and medical technology. Named among 'World's Most Admired Companies' by FORTUNE, TE Connectivity’s work focuses on developing technology for a connected and sustainable future. Paly Robotics is grateful to be one of the many FIRST Robotics teams supported by TE Connectivity. |
Instantly recognizable across the globe for the revolutionary iPhone, Apple is arguably one of the most influential companies of the 21st century. Based in neighboring Cupertino, Apple continues to find new ways to innovate, including partnering with Team 8. |
The Gene Haas Foundation, based in California, is dedicated to promoting technical expertise and machine learning in high schools, colleges and universities, and trade schools. Through numerous grants and scholarship programs, the Gene Haas Foundation supports its local and broader California communities, and generously contributes to Team 8 and its efforts to promote hands-on learning at Paly and our community. |
Intuitive Surgical creates robotic-assisted systems that enable doctors to perform minimally invasive surgeries. While revolutionizing healthcare through technology, Intuitive Surgical also reaches out to the community through their Intuitive Foundation, which supports FRC teams through donations and invitations to tour their company sites. Alumni of Team 8 have cited visits to Intuitive Surgical’s headquarters as one of their most exciting high school experiences. |
ARM Architecture is one of the leading producers of RISC architectures for computer processors, which are used to power businesses around the globe. Paly Robotics is proud to share ARM’s goal of driving innovation with technology and our partnership helps us realize this dream. |
Established in 1958, NASA is a US government agency responsible for the civilian space program and space research. For over 60 years, NASA has pushed the boundaries of STEAM achievement, and through its support of Paly Robotics, helps us strive to follow their example in our communities. NASA supports Paly Robotics by providing funds for our projects, allowing us to further spread STEAM learning throughout our community and beyond. |
D&K Precision Sheet Metal is a family owned sheet metal shop that has been delivering the highest quality sheet metal products to Silicon Valley companies since 1981. Located in the San Francisco South Bay, D&K sponsors Team 8 by fabricating custom sheet metal parts for robot builds. |
Markforged produces innovative machines, such as their 3D printers, that help drive STEAM innovation around the globe and turn computer-created designs into reality. Markforged sponsors our team by helping us access their 3D printers, which are crucial to our team’s ability to fabricate parts throughout the year. |
Solidworks sponsors Team 8 by sending us free student copies of their CAD software, allowing us to effectively design and prototype our robot. They also donated a powerful CAM tool that we use in conjunction with our CNC Mill and 3D Printer. |
Dropbox is one of the most well-known file hosting companies in the world, and offers accessible cloud storage and file syncing to its users. Their sponsorship has made us more efficient and an overall better team. |
Kirk's Steakburgers sponsors Team 8 by providing us with delicious burgers to keep us fed during build season. |
Based in Northern California, Asian Box sponsors Paly Robotics by providing us with warm meals during our rigorous 3 month build season. Our team members are grateful for the delicious food that Asian Box has to offer. |
Robby Technologies is a company located in Palo Alto that creates self-driving vehicles to deliver food and packages. They have graciously donated a multitude of tools and materials to Paly Robotics. |
Emotiv sponsored Team 8 with free Electroencephalography (EEG) software for reading brainwaves. We used their technology to develop a solution to allow a quadraplegic individual to communicate with his mind. |
