Third robotics team qualifies for states

The performance qualifies BotsBurgh to compete at the Pennsylvania FTC State Championship, which is set for March 8-9, 2025, at Bellefonte Area High School. This marks the third USC Robotics team to qualify. BotsBurgh will be joined by the ROGO Lotus and TeraBridges teams.

BotsBurgh team members include seniors Cadence Forney (captain), Ben Ross, Bryan Deep, Komel Nulwala and Liam Moriarty; juniors Zahra Hossain and Medha Misra; sophomores Siddharth Kumar, Harish Rajaganapathy and Josh Mukherjee; and freshman Saed Mugwaneza. The team is coached and mentored by Dr. Hunaid Nulwala, Batool Nulwala, Dr. Sidd Mukherjee, and Mr. Nirmal Muthukumaran.

The team competed in five matches at this qualifier, winning three using their 3-wheel Kiwi drive and in-house-built screw-based scissor lift.

“The robot features over 80 3-D printed and custom-designed parts,” Mrs. Nulwala said. “The team put significant effort into documenting their journey and detailing how they arrived at design decisions. Coupled with their field performance, this documentation led to the team winning the Think Award.”

The Think Award is presented to the team, which the judges believe best represents the journey of the engineering design process. The engineering portfolio serves as the primary reference for judges to assist them in identifying the most deserving team.

According to the feedback from the judges, “This team impressed the judges with the thoroughness of the engineering content in their portfolio. Their calculations and materials analysis bridged the gap between design and execution. We’re glad this golden team traveled the distance to be here.”

The BotsBurgh team collaborated with industry professionals, who played a vital role in deepening their understanding of science and engineering. Matergenics, a company that specializes in material inspection and testing, provided support with SEM analysis and offered insights on how to enhance the team’s 3-D printed parts.

“They encountered problems with a custom 3D-printed component used in their scissor lift, and the SEM analysis helped pinpoint the root cause of the issue and develop an effective solution,” Mrs. Nulwala said.

In addition, team members recently toured CONSOL Innovations and Touchstone Research Laboratory, acquiring knowledge about advanced materials and carbon composites.

BotsBurgh is actively engaged in community outreach efforts that include participation in USC Community Day, organizing robot petting zoos at local libraries, and running monthly after-school programs for elementary students through the South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM). The team also conducted a summer outreach program in Pakistan at a non-profit school, the Hakimi School.

BotsBurgh will host the Southwestern and Panther Power Qualifiers on Feb. 22-23 at Boyce Middle School. The event will feature more than 60 robotics teams from across Pennsylvania. Learn more about the Southwestern and Panther Power Qualifiers.