Who We Are

Viking Robotics is a youth-led inclusive and diverse community that inspires, develops and educates individuals within our community about business, marketing, programming, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, design, fabrication, and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related skills.

We are a team based in Ballard High School, participating in the First Robotics Competition. Our goal is to empower the next generation with STEM skills. We also aim to spread FIRST’s message of gracious professionalism, a general rhetoric of respectful collaboration and treatment among peers.  Our team of over fifty diverse students works side-by-side with dedicated mentors from industry to learn and apply valuable STEM-based skills in a fun and highly cooperative environment. Together, with generous support of our corporate sponsors, we design and build robots that compete at the highest level.

Viking Robotics Team 2928 was founded in 2008 with a ten-member core group and a budget kick started with a $6,000 Boeing grant. Our school sponsor was Craig Nielson, with whom we quickly established a solid team, winning our first championship in the 2012 Seattle Olympic Regional. That same year we qualified for Einstein. In 2015, Craig Nielson left Ballard High School and Brian Connolly replaced him as our school sponsor. The size of our team continued to increase as we spread the message of FIRST, growing from 40 to about 60 members today. In 2017, our team qualified for the Houston World Championship and unexpectedly won Einsteins. Unfortunately, while this was a major win, the trip left us $20,000 in debt. Through tremendous effort and support, we toppled our past fundraising goals and raised $92,000 the next year.  In 2020, the team made tremendous strides as we officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a proud member of LGBTQ+ of FIRST.

FIRST

​FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international organization for K-12 students. It was founded by Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers in 1989 as a way to inspire them in engineering and technology by working as a team to accomplish goals in their respective competition. FIRST includes different competitions based in age groups.

FIRST Robotics  Competition 
Grades 9-12
FIRST Tech Challenge
Grades 7-12
FIRST Lego League 
Grades 4-10
FIRST Lego League JR 
Grades K-3

FRC is an international high school robotics league. Each year, teams of high school students and mentors work during a six-week period to build game-playing robots that weigh up to 120 pounds. The game changes yearly, keeping the excitement fresh and to give teams a level playing field.

What We Do

What do we in Viking Robotics?

• Teaching Members New Skills: We teach the students participating skills in all kinds of fields, including engineering and programming, along with fundraising and financial management skills.
• Competitions: we participate in an international robotics competition that has 4,000+ First Robotics teams.
• Community Outreach: Our main goal with community outreach is reaching out to the Ballard/Seattle community, spreading awareness for the importance of STEM education and FIRST Robotics, and inspiring and empowering the next generation of engineers, and STEM thinkers.

Mechanical

• In mechanical, we build the frame and drive-train of the robot, as well as various other functions based on the parameters of the game. We learn skills including working with various power tools, transferring on-paper designs into tangible objects, and social skills such as effective communication between members of the team to achieve goals. Building the robot is a complex task that requires multiple moving parts, so it takes incredible organizational skills to maintain an efficient workflow.

Design

• In design, we use the program Autodesk Inventor to CAD parts of our robot, which are used as a prototype for later mechanical construction. This enables us to visualize concepts for our robot and helps us figure out what is possible and what is not. Without design, we cannot build our robot as efficiently. These 3D models also allow us to manufacture the parts in-house using a CNC milling machine.​

​​​Electrical

• In electrical, we design and create the electrical system for the robot. Here we teach wiring and control system skills which we use in our robot. We work with the mechanical and programming sub-teams to ensure proper control systems are in place and the robot is left with efficient wire routes.

Business

• In business, we do everything not directly related to the design and construction of the robot we fund raise and obtain corporate sponsors to cover the travel costs of competition and pay for the expensive parts of our robot. We learn skills related to marketing, advertising, and budgeting to secure money from various sources and invest it in our team. We also deal with the team's media needs such as running the team’s social media, website and creating all the team’s graphic assets. Through these tasks, we learn how to use the Adobe Suite and adhere to basic design principles. Our job is also to handle 2928’s outreach and community service. We plan community events, begin other FIRST teams, and organize volunteering opportunities. The sub-team will plan the future of Ballard’s outreach and will compete in the Chairman’s Award for FIRST. We organize a five-year plan in an effort to give more back to our supporting community. Additionally, we create a ‘Chairman’s Video’ and a trailer for our robot.

Programming

• Programmers create the program that makes the robot function. Without programming, our drivers would not be able to control the robot. We develop code for user commands from the driver as well as developing an autonomous code for the beginning of each match. Our new members will learn to program in java with no experience required.​

Community Outreach

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• ​Mentors for the West Woodland Wildcats Elementary School robotics team
• Mentors for St. Alphonsus Elementary School robotics team
• Library sponsored robotics class for the Green Lake public library
• Sponsor and host FIRST Lego League competitions at Ballard High School annually
• Participated in Syttende Mai Parade
• Over the past three years, Ballard Vikings Robotics students have donated over 2000 community service hours

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 Awards

• World Championship Winner, Einstein Field Houston (2017)
• Event Winner, Roebling Division Houston (2017)
• Judges Award (2019)
• District Event Winner, Glacier Peak (2017)
• District Event Winner, Mt. Vernon(2016, 2014)
• Quality Award (2016, 2012, 2019)
• Industrial Design Award (2016, 2014)
• Industrial Safety Award (2015, 2014)
• Gracious Professionalism Award (2014)
• Competed at St. Louis Championship (2014, 2012)
• Team Spirit Award (2013)
• Seattle Olympic Regional Winner(2012)
• Coopertition Award (2012)
• Imagery Award (2011)

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